FDA Scrutiny Scant In India, China as Drugs Pour Into U.S

[RamboLiberal]

Source: Washington Post

India and China, countries where the Food and Drug Administration rarely conducts quality-control inspections, have become major suppliers of low-cost drugs and drug ingredients to American consumers. Analysts say their products are becoming pervasive in the generic and over-the-counter marketplace.

Over the past seven years, amid explosive growth in imports from India and China, the FDA conducted only about 200 inspections of plants in those countries, and a few were the kind that U.S. firms face regularly to ensure that the drugs they make are of high quality.

The agency, which is responsible for ensuring the safety of drugs for Americans wherever they are manufactured, made 1,222 of these quality-assurance inspections in the United States last year. In India, which has more plants making drugs and drug ingredients for American consumers than any other foreign nation, it conducted a handful.

Companies based in India were bit players in the American drug market 10 years ago, selling just eight generic drugs here. Today, almost 350 varieties and strengths of antidepressants, heart medicines, antibiotics and other drugs purchased by American consumers are made by Indian manufacturers.

Five years ago, Chinese drugmakers exported about $300 million worth of products to the United States. Eager to meet Americans' demand for lower-cost medicines, they, too, have expanded rapidly. Last year, they sold more than $675 million in pharmaceutical ingredients and products in the U.S. market.


Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/16/AR2007061601295.html?hpid=topnews

[depakid]

1. But the Post says those Candian drugs are TOO DANGEROUS

What's a person to do?

[RamboLiberal]

2. You mirrored my thoughts

Gotta keep those dangerous Canadian drugs out of the U.S.

BTW, a ton of our vitamins and vitamins that are added to foods are now coming from China.

Will it take humans dying by the scores like our pets did earlier this year to wake consumers up and demand action from our politicians?

[rodeodance]

4. bushco wants the US drug companies to make more$$ and does NOT care if people get hurt

[emilyg]

9. Oh yes.

Bush is good to his friends. That bastard.

[Deja Q]

3. What's a person to do?

Die.

Once our ability to consume is exhausted.

Who knows?

Whatever happens, may it be painless.

[ohio2007]

5. Maybe they should find out where canada is getting their cheap knock off pills

[bigbrother05]

6. Don't inspect the drugs...

Don't inspect the food...
Don't inspect the ports...
Don't inspect the DOJ...

What do you expect when they only hire "good Americans" and defund/defang every one of our safeguard systems that it took 100 years and untold lives to put into place since the last era of the robber barons.

Only the Greeks or Dante could adequately detail the levels of hell those folks will endure for eternity.

[daleo]

7. Yet three year olds with sippy cups are a security threat

It's crazy.

[Hekate]

10. Ah, the glories of deregulation. Adam Smith's invisible hand strikes again....

...like a clip upside the head.

These great minds have set consumer protections in this country back an entire century -- at least.

:argh:

Hekate

[Bruce McAuley]

8. Not to mention the fake knock-off pills.

Low quality is one thing, but we're talking totally FAKE pills too. They LOOK good, but they don't work.
My wife takes a few pills, and it seems about 20 to 40% of all the pills she gets just don't plain work.
Why is easy to figure: Somebody is tapping the good pills off and replacing them with fakes.
Then they can sell the good drugs on the underground market, even MORE lucrative.
Follow the money.
Nobody really watches all those drugs, it's in their best interest NOT to look too close.
Follow the money one way and drugs the other way.
And these drugs are supposedly safe and watched by the FDA.
Hah.
Money is the bottom line.

Bruce

[Daphne08]

11. I'm so weary of becoming angry when reading the news. n/t