BOTTLE OF LIES THE INSIDE STORY OF GENERIC DRUG BOOM

BOTTLE OF LIES: THE INSIDE STORY OF GENERIC DRUG BOOM

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Introduction

The generic medicine industry began as explained by Eban by two Indian nationalists who aimed at copying the expensive western medicine as a way of making and bringing affordable drugs to the Indian market (James et al,2018). Generally, over the world, millions of people suffer various kinds of illness and diseases hence the need for the development of drugs to help cure their conditions or even alleviate pain from the patients. Development and medical evolution have seen pharma companies develop various drugs and availing them to the patients and consumers in need. The need to provide more drugs to the patients saw the manufacturer and genesis of generic drugs and medicines that have helped to save millions of lives across the globe with Indian being best known for generic drugs production hence being referred to as the ‘pharmacy of the world’ (Eban,2019). However, with the commercialization of these generic drugs through ana award-winning investigative writer Katherine Eban who argues that these medicines that are generic are poisoning people. The arguments by Eban are on the global fraud of the pharmaceutical companies in their deceptive ways of providing generic drugs, she argues on the data manipulation and the questionable nature the quality control standards are as well as the unsafe production of generic medicine as exposed by the whistleblower (Eban,2019). Through the book Bottles of Lies a story on the inside story of generic drug boom that argues and develops on the basis and genesis of the generic drug boom that has often been regraded to front the money and profitability ahead of the patient’s health which is their core purposes, Katherine describes the regulation agency of the united states (United states food and drug administration )and how it developed with their opening of markets for generic drug competition that was very cheap (FDA,2018). The bestselling book in New York views the developed of generic drugs as poisoning the people that is developed with a combination of infield reporting on the commerce in pharmaceutical. Written by an investigative journalist the book is able to expose and an eye-opener into the generic drugs that shows how the greed of the pharmaceutical companies has dominated the creation of drugs.

The book Bottle of lies: The inside story of the Generic drug Boom was written by an award-winning investigative journalist Katherine Eban on medical issues that focus on pharmacology. The book was published by Harper Collins Publishers that develop a hardcover with 512 pages with the first edition of the new book being published on May 14th 2019 (Clark & Phillips,2019). The writing of the book by the author is guided by the greedy nature of pharmaceuticals company that offers an easy way out for consumers who are money-strapped by providing cheap generic medicine which the author argues to be dangerous and poisonous as most the production of these drugs is often overseas in factories and industries that are less checked nor verified thus posing a danger to the consumer. the levels in the book include the whistleblower who raised concern after working for the with a pharmacological company specializing in the making of generics (Eban,2019). With the subject that relies on generic medicine under pharmacology and having written investigative pieces in medicine such as Dangerous Doses: How Counterfeiters Are Contaminating America’s Drug Supply, 2005 thus she is a well-known authority on the subjects regarding medicine and their counterfeits. The book was a New York Times bestseller whose reporting on health made me have an interest in reading the work of the renown author and investigative journalist Eban. The reporting is alarming and under the sensitive issue of health will make one question every drug they are in contact with. The varied nature and new information on pharmacology uncovering made me read the book that enhanced my knowledge into the in-depth of developments of genetics that were presented by the writer which otherwise I could not have known (Eban,2019).

The book focuses on the subject of Generic drugs in pharmacology that exposes the deceit in generic medicine manufacturing and the dangers it poses to the health of individuals globally (Eban,2019). The development and fortune in the industry as observed by the writer saw into eliminating the quality control process in making these drugs in the essence and with the aim of making a fortune off the brief monopoly in the generic medicine commerce. The writer argues that the generic medicines are poisoning the people through the process of eliminating the quality control process and in the process develop fake books for inspection to the state departments responsible for drug administration (FDA,2018). The corruption in the industry of generic medicine that was developed by Gandhi now hunts the entire wild for the benefit of a few greedy companies. The generic industry that begum in 1935 by the Indian nationalists who urged each other to copy the western medicine and make it affordable succeeded in reverse-engineering the medicine formulas hence supplying India and the rest of the world with low-cost medicines that were the version of the western medicines. The book by Eban shows how Gandhi’s good intention action developed to become an international fraud. The book is centered around a young executive as a whistleblower who tries to stop his employer an Indian genetics giant from careless manufacture of drugs. The writer argues that 40% of the genetic medicine that is basic to Americans is often imported from China and India with American people believing that generic drugs are simply a cheaper version of the actual name or brand medicine. The patients believe its an amicable process that lead to the developing of cheap drugs from the brand name which is the entire opposite as the brand name companies do not support the generic medicine but they rather strive to stop these drugs from the market (Eban,2019). Eban argues on the opaque nature of the pharmaceutical companies who create the generic drugs through the reverse engineering process that sees the dismantling, putting back together stuff and additional of extra stuff to the final product so as it looks like a replicate of the original (Eban,2019). The writer Eban in her books shows how the development of generic medicine was influenced by the epidemic of HIV/AIDS consequences whereby only western companies owned patents to the effective drugs that were rather expensive for the people affected. With the reduced cost of production according to Eban the American firms realized that if the Indians made the generics good enough to be approved by, they can order the genetic drugs and transform the American drug industry. The integrity, goodwill and humanitarian aim of Dr Hamid and Cipla being exceptional, firms in the states stopped domestic production with the aim of minimizing costs in terms of labor and regulation costs. Although according to the whistleblower 200 products in 40 different countries had been fabricated to support the business needs of the pharma company (Eban,2019). She argues that the FDA used low-quality ingredients with altered test parameters to ensure products with high impunity were approved. Thus, concluding that these drugs by Ranbaxy were harmful for consumption that lacked ingredients that were active but rather having a high number of impunities leading to hospitalization of patients. The fraud was much deeper than the numbers on ledger being fudged but also the concealing of drug impunities by the staff. With the companies investing in a show factory to convince the FDA inspectors that they were different companies (FDA,2018). The main ideas of the book were to provide public service through the provision of insight into the making of generic drugs, with the projection of what the executives are hiding from the general public. The most interesting idea is the profit-driven of bad, bankrupt systems whereby the original brand names are isolated with short cut strategies and schemes that develop these generic drugs whereby patients are not benefiting whereby health is changing course to being a business model (Shepherd,2019).

Bottle of lies is a narrative that is investigative, exposing the life-threating practices that are carried out in the manufacture of generic drugs. The narrative has exclusive accounts of a former executive member of a giant pharma company and confidential documents that expose this global fraud, manipulation of data and unsafe production of medicine (Eban,2019). The book presents the arguments of the writer on questionable quality standards that make the generic drugs not as safe or as effective as the patients view them. The strengths of this book are that the points and ideas articulated are clear and precise as they help the readability by the audience. The weaknesses developed by the book is that it has oversimplified the issue in this book and even though it correctly criticizes the subject on unsafe production of generic drugs it does not highlight the benefits accrued from the use of these generic medicines by the patients. The book has enabled me to learn how these companies conceal their impunities just to ensure their business aims are achieved. My opinion on this issue is that it is inhuman to take advantage of the vital industry that is set to provide genuine drugs that are reverse engineered to help the needy with money constraints to satisfy the greed of few companies that are profit-oriented at the expense of human health(Shepherd,2019). This is derived from the implied integrity, goodwill and humanitarian motivation by dr. Hamid and Cipla. My opinion on the book is that for the great good of the public it is essential and indeed an eye-opener that I would recommend so that others would get the in-depth view of what transpires in the manufacture of generic medicine. This would help them make informed choices and develop a better view of the issues surrounding generic drugs.

References

Clark, G., & Phillips, A. (2019). Inside book publishing. Routledge.

Eban, K. (2019). Bottle of lies: the inside story of the generic drug boom. HarperCollins Press, May, 14, 405-406.

FDA, U. (2018). Department of Health and Human Services Food and Drug Administration. Early Alzheimer’s Disease: Developing Drugs for Treatment. USA: Guidance for Industry, US Department of Health and Human Services Food and Drug Administration.

James, P., Bah, A., Margao, E., Hanson, C., Kabba, J., & Jamshed, S. (2018). Exploring the Knowledge and Perception of Generic Medicines among Final Year Undergraduate Medical, Pharmacy, and Nursing Students in Sierra Leone: A Comparative Cross-Sectional Approach. Pharmacy, 6(1), 3.

Shepherd, J. (2019). Pharmacy Benefit Managers, Rebates, and Drug Prices: Conflicts of Interest in the Market for Prescription Drugs. Yale Law & Policy Review, 38.