StrongMeMore has come back with a new topic: Bottles of Lies | Ranbaxy and the Dark Side of Indian Pharma. This post of about the book Bottles of Lies written by Katherine Eban is vey interesting.
Introduction
- Katherine Eban's book Bottle of Lies exposes the unscrupulous activities of some Indian pharmaceutical businesses, particularly Ranbaxy, which manufacture generic medications for the global market.
- Over 20,000 FDA records and interviews with over 240 persons, including whistleblowers, regulators, doctors, patients, and industry insiders, were used to create the book.
- The book details how Ranbaxy and other corporations faked test findings, distorted data, lied to regulators, and put millions of patients at risk by using poor and tainted pharmaceuticals.
- The book also raises disturbing issues about the involvement of the United States Food and Drug Administration, the World Health Organization, and other organizations that failed to discover and stop the fraud for years.
The Ranbaxy Scam
- The Ranbaxy affair began in 2004, when Dinesh Thakur, a top Ranbaxy employee, found that the company had been fabricating data for its HIV medications that were delivered to Africa through a US-funded program.
- Thakur resigned and became a whistleblower for the US Food and Drug Administration, revealing evidence of Ranbaxy's systemic fraud and misconduct.
- The book describes how Ranbaxy and its Indian supporters threatened, harassed, and retaliated against Thakur and other whistleblowers.
- The book also details how the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) launched a series of inspections and investigations into Ranbaxy's operations in India and other countries, revealing serious violations of quality standards and good manufacturing procedures.
- The book details how Ranbaxy attempted to conceal its deception by deleting evidence, paying officials, hacking systems, and obstructing justice.
- The book details how, in 2013, Ranbaxy pleaded guilty to seven felony counts and agreed to pay $500 million in fines and penalties, the highest settlement ever reached by a generic medicine firm.
The Underbelly of Indian Pharma
- The book contends that Ranbaxy is a sign of a larger problem in the Indian pharmaceutical business, which accounts for 40% of the US generic drug market and 20% of the global generic drug market.
- The book demonstrates how many Indian pharmaceutical corporations have embraced a culture of deception and fraud, motivated by greed, competition, and a lack of responsibility.
- Other firms cited in the book include Wockhardt, Dr. Reddy's, Glenmark, and RPG Life Sciences, which have all faced regulatory action or lawsuits for quality difficulties or data integrity violations.
- The book reveals how certain Indian pharmaceutical corporations have taken advantage of regulatory gaps by utilizing various sets of data for different countries, conducting selective testing, or outsourcing crucial functions to third parties.
- The book also discusses how some Indian pharmaceutical corporations have jeopardized patient safety by manufacturing subpar or contaminated pharmaceuticals that can cause major harm or even death.
- The book claims that fraud and negligence in the Indian pharmaceutical business represent a serious threat to public health and global trust in generic medications.
