6 ms·

They've done well in the pharma industry recently, but it's their one major success.

eldaisfish 4y ago
I would strongly suggest not calling India's pharma industry a success. It is rife with terrible quality and government-sponsored coverups. Here is one book that goes into some detail:Bottle of Lies: Ranbaxy and the Dark Side of Indian Pharma Many children lost their lives in Gambia and Uzbekistan after consuming tainted cough syrup made in India. The worst part is not the error, it is the fact that indian regulators and the indian government don't do anything to solve the problem.
- jen729w 4y ago
  We're in Australia and after reading that book we'll go out of our way to not buy generics manufactured in India. Weirdly, it doesn't seem like a regulatory requirement to print the country of manufacture on the box. All of our food is clearly labelled but not pharmaceuticals? An odd omission. I speak as someone who worked in India -- Bangalore, in the IT sector -- for 2 years. I loved the place and the people. But for sure the work ethic is ... different to Australia.
  - eldaisfish 4y ago
    the disappointing thing is that India can absolutely dominate the sector and supply cheap generics to poor countries. They have the expertise and supply chains. All while making a tidy profit. Instead, greed and crony capitalism takes over and increasingly, the indian government is getting increasingly involved, reacting to any criticism in a churlish manner. Really sad to see the wasted potential in a country like India. I suspect this is cultural and not easy to fix.
    - cactusplant7374 4y ago
      Why do you suspect it’s cultural?
      - jen729w 4y ago
        Have you spent any time in India? It is absolutely cultural. That might not be palatable but it's true. My mate Kiran used to lament the state of his own country. "The corruption..." he would sigh.
  - reaperducer 4y ago
    Weirdly, it doesn't seem like a regulatory requirement to print the country of manufacture on the box. All of our food is clearly labelled but not pharmaceuticals? It's the opposite in the US, for the most part.
tguvot 4y ago
i am pretty sure that every few weeks I see floating up yet another article about some generic made in India recalled due to whatever reasons. So while they did capture a big market share, i think it's acknowledged that they have quality control issues
ilamont 4y ago
No. There have been years of serious quality problems at certain Indian manufacturers. Here's a case from 10 years ago: During a visit to a facility of leading Indian drugmaker Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd last year, U.S. inspectors found that a black fiber embedded in a tablet may have been a hair from an employee’s arm, according to documents seen by Reuters. .... The Mohali plant, in the northern state of Punjab, had not been making U.S. exports since last November, when it voluntarily recalled its generic version of cholesterol-lowering drug Lipitor in the United States due to the potential presence of glass particles in certain batches. Here's another case from last year: A parliamentary committee in Gambia said on Tuesday that India-based drug maker Maiden Pharmaceuticals Ltd was responsible for the deaths of at least 70 children from acute kidney injury and called on the government to pursue legal action. According to a WHO report, "labs contracted by it in Ghana and Switzerland found excess levels of ethyleneglycol and diethyleneglycol contaminants in the Maiden syrups." https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/gambia-lawmakers-say-maiden-blame-child-kidney-injury-deaths-2022-12-20/ https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/gambia-lawmakers-say-ma... Note that the plant cited in the 2013 case was majority owned by a Japanese pharmaceutical company. They still couldn't get QC right.
- reaperducer 4y ago
  No need to go way back ten years. A recall in the US a couple of weeks ago was because of eye drops made in India. That said, India does produce massive amounts of pharma for export around the world. Just read the labels on the boxes in the drug stores.
edgyquant 4y ago
This is ironic considering just this last month there was a controversy over their pharmaceutical standards with multiple children dying from over the counter medicine. They haven’t done well and there’s constant issues with Indian “genetics” not actually delivering the amount of a given medicine claimed. There’s also almost no recourse one can take here.

I would strongly suggest not calling India's pharma industry a success. It is rife with terrible quality and government-sponsored coverups. Here is one book that goes into some detail:Bottle of Lies: Ranbaxy and the Dark Side of Indian Pharma Many children lost their lives in Gambia and Uzbekistan after consuming tainted cough syrup made in India. The worst part is not the error, it is the fact that indian regulators and the indian government don't do anything to solve the problem.

jen729w 4y ago
We're in Australia and after reading that book we'll go out of our way to not buy generics manufactured in India. Weirdly, it doesn't seem like a regulatory requirement to print the country of manufacture on the box. All of our food is clearly labelled but not pharmaceuticals? An odd omission. I speak as someone who worked in India -- Bangalore, in the IT sector -- for 2 years. I loved the place and the people. But for sure the work ethic is ... different to Australia.
- eldaisfish 4y ago
  the disappointing thing is that India can absolutely dominate the sector and supply cheap generics to poor countries. They have the expertise and supply chains. All while making a tidy profit. Instead, greed and crony capitalism takes over and increasingly, the indian government is getting increasingly involved, reacting to any criticism in a churlish manner. Really sad to see the wasted potential in a country like India. I suspect this is cultural and not easy to fix.
  - cactusplant7374 4y ago
    Why do you suspect it’s cultural?
    - jen729w 4y ago
      Have you spent any time in India? It is absolutely cultural. That might not be palatable but it's true. My mate Kiran used to lament the state of his own country. "The corruption..." he would sigh.
- reaperducer 4y ago
  Weirdly, it doesn't seem like a regulatory requirement to print the country of manufacture on the box. All of our food is clearly labelled but not pharmaceuticals? It's the opposite in the US, for the most part.

tguvot 4y ago

i am pretty sure that every few weeks I see floating up yet another article about some generic made in India recalled due to whatever reasons. So while they did capture a big market share, i think it's acknowledged that they have quality control issues

ilamont 4y ago

No. There have been years of serious quality problems at certain Indian manufacturers. Here's a case from 10 years ago: During a visit to a facility of leading Indian drugmaker Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd last year, U.S. inspectors found that a black fiber embedded in a tablet may have been a hair from an employee’s arm, according to documents seen by Reuters. .... The Mohali plant, in the northern state of Punjab, had not been making U.S. exports since last November, when it voluntarily recalled its generic version of cholesterol-lowering drug Lipitor in the United States due to the potential presence of glass particles in certain batches. Here's another case from last year: A parliamentary committee in Gambia said on Tuesday that India-based drug maker Maiden Pharmaceuticals Ltd was responsible for the deaths of at least 70 children from acute kidney injury and called on the government to pursue legal action. According to a WHO report, "labs contracted by it in Ghana and Switzerland found excess levels of ethyleneglycol and diethyleneglycol contaminants in the Maiden syrups." https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/gambia-lawmakers-say-maiden-blame-child-kidney-injury-deaths-2022-12-20/ https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/gambia-lawmakers-say-ma... Note that the plant cited in the 2013 case was majority owned by a Japanese pharmaceutical company. They still couldn't get QC right.

reaperducer 4y ago
No need to go way back ten years. A recall in the US a couple of weeks ago was because of eye drops made in India. That said, India does produce massive amounts of pharma for export around the world. Just read the labels on the boxes in the drug stores.

edgyquant 4y ago

This is ironic considering just this last month there was a controversy over their pharmaceutical standards with multiple children dying from over the counter medicine. They haven’t done well and there’s constant issues with Indian “genetics” not actually delivering the amount of a given medicine claimed. There’s also almost no recourse one can take here.