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Do you have evidence that defective drugs made it to customers?

PhantomGremlin 10y ago
Do you have evidence that defective drugs made it to customers? I've ranted about this before on HN. The global pharmaceutical supply chain in a Cluster Fuck race to the bottom. Here are a few articles that Bloomberg wrote a few years ago: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2014-03-06/flies-found-by-fda-threaten-indian-town-built-on-generics http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2014-03-06/flies-foun... http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2014-12-03/indian-labs-deleted-drug-test-results-documents-show http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2014-12-03/indian-lab... IMO you're being deliberately naïve if you don't think that those sorts of manufacturing practices don't result in "defective drugs" reaching consumers. Edit: here's a link to a Pfizer website. They make the claim that "VIAGRA is one of the most counterfeited drugs in the world." Do you expect us to believe that none of that counterfeit drug ever gets to consumers? https://www.viagra.com/getting/avoid-counterfeits https://www.viagra.com/getting/avoid-counterfeits
- amitdeshwar 10y ago
  Counterfeit != defective I agree though that those bloomberg stories indicate that defective drugs are in fact reaching consumers :(
  - PhantomGremlin 10y ago
    Look at what Pfizer claims they found in counterfeit Viagra: Blue printer ink Amphetamines, also known as “speed” Metronidazole, a powerful antibiotic that could cause an allergic reaction, diarrhea, or vomiting Too much active ingredient (or not enough), which may cause you harm Binding agents, such as drywall, that prevent the tablet from breaking down in your system And look what Pfizer claims they found in other counterfeit medications: Toxic ingredients, such as boric acid, floor wax, brick dust, rat poison, and road paint Ingredients that can have dangerous interactions with other medications you may be taking A completely different medication with potentially harmful side effects Yes I know that Pfizer is hardly a disinterested party. But I still get the impression that there's a lot of defective product out there. Not just counterfeit, but indisputably defective!
justinclift 10y ago
There are a few instances of generics manufacturers being shut down expressly due to this. eg the fake drugs were being sold to consumers It's very easy to find specific instances via standard Googling/DuckDuckGo/etc. Note - that's not me being hand wavy, I'm actually saying "Google it" because in-depth results DO show up.

Do you have evidence that defective drugs made it to customers? I've ranted about this before on HN. The global pharmaceutical supply chain in a Cluster Fuck race to the bottom. Here are a few articles that Bloomberg wrote a few years ago: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2014-03-06/flies-found-by-fda-threaten-indian-town-built-on-generics http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2014-03-06/flies-foun... http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2014-12-03/indian-labs-deleted-drug-test-results-documents-show http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2014-12-03/indian-lab... IMO you're being deliberately naïve if you don't think that those sorts of manufacturing practices don't result in "defective drugs" reaching consumers. Edit: here's a link to a Pfizer website. They make the claim that "VIAGRA is one of the most counterfeited drugs in the world." Do you expect us to believe that none of that counterfeit drug ever gets to consumers? https://www.viagra.com/getting/avoid-counterfeits https://www.viagra.com/getting/avoid-counterfeits

amitdeshwar 10y ago
Counterfeit != defective I agree though that those bloomberg stories indicate that defective drugs are in fact reaching consumers :(
- PhantomGremlin 10y ago
  Look at what Pfizer claims they found in counterfeit Viagra: Blue printer ink Amphetamines, also known as “speed” Metronidazole, a powerful antibiotic that could cause an allergic reaction, diarrhea, or vomiting Too much active ingredient (or not enough), which may cause you harm Binding agents, such as drywall, that prevent the tablet from breaking down in your system And look what Pfizer claims they found in other counterfeit medications: Toxic ingredients, such as boric acid, floor wax, brick dust, rat poison, and road paint Ingredients that can have dangerous interactions with other medications you may be taking A completely different medication with potentially harmful side effects Yes I know that Pfizer is hardly a disinterested party. But I still get the impression that there's a lot of defective product out there. Not just counterfeit, but indisputably defective!

justinclift 10y ago

There are a few instances of generics manufacturers being shut down expressly due to this. eg the fake drugs were being sold to consumers It's very easy to find specific instances via standard Googling/DuckDuckGo/etc. Note - that's not me being hand wavy, I'm actually saying "Google it" because in-depth results DO show up.