In this episode, I follow up on Davos 2026 by shifting from speeches and symbolism to the physical realities of global supply chains. The focus is on chokepoints: the Red Sea, Suez, Hormuz, and Taiwan, and on what happens when great-power politics starts to narrow the corridors, systems, and dependencies that modern industries rely on.

I look at how recent developments have moved from rhetoric into operating conditions: fragile reopenings, renewed disruptions, and rising uncertainty around routes, energy, shipping, and trade policy.

From a pharma and healthcare perspective, the key point is that even when medicines are not shipped directly through a disrupted chokepoint, the upstream systems they depend on still are, whether through energy-intensive inputs, chemical feedstocks, freight capacity, or supplier stability.

This epis ...