Bottle of Lies: The Inside Story of the Generic Drug Boom Hardcover – May 14, 2019

I'm still a bit shell-shocked after having finished this bookFirst, even if you're not a regular consumer of generic drugs you'll find the book well-written, fast-paced, engaging and very often reading like a thriller. At times I couldn't put it down.If you are a regular consumer of drugs for a wide range of chronic conditions, cardiac illness, transplant maintenance, HIV suppression, and the list goes on, read this book and ask yourself afterwards, "Am I certain the drugs I'm taking are safe or that they will do the job they're expected to?" I guarantee you'll tell yourself you're not sure, especially if you weren't sensitive to this issue before now.That the FDA allows some of the things to go on that are highlighted in this book floors me. There's a long list of things, to include not wanting their inspectors to be too aggressive because it can create problems for the US drug supply, or not wanting to restrict the shipment of drugs from a company that should not be shipping to the US because of the quality control of their manufacturing process or the deliberate falsification of records, because doing so would create a shortage, so instead of restricting the importing of some drugs by deserved outright bans from that company instead partial bans are put in place.This book's in on par with Upton Sinclair's "The Jungle". After "The Jungle" you found out you really didn't want to know how the sausage was made, but you sure and heck didn't want to eat it either. The same holds true for your generic lipitor and a long, long list of other drugs that now you have to wonder about. With sausage you might get sick if you eat it, with a generic drug taking it might kill you if the ingredients are tainted, or their release mechanism doesn't agree with the original manufacturer's requirements, or a long list of other reasons for why the drug isn't bio-equivalent.Read this and be warned, and think about what you need to do to make this problem go away - I am.

As a pharmacist, I was looking forward to reading Katherine Eban’s new book about generic drugs. I know her to be an excellent researcher and a great author. Having just finished the book, I can say I was not disappointed. At least I was not disappointed in the author. She did a wonderful job as usual! The book is well researched and documented, and it reads like a novel. It would make a great movie as well!It was, however, very disappointing (shocking, disturbing!), to learn about the negligence and outright fraud associated with the manufacture of many generic drugs and the lack of oversight and public protection provided by the federal agency that is supposed to regulate these products, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). About 90% of medications consumed in the United States are generics and the vast majority of these are made in India and China. The FDA is responsible to inspect and regulate plants that make medicines for use in the U.S., including plants outside the U.S. While the book highlights some dedicated and highly competent FDA employees, they often failed to receive support from higher in the agency.Key lessons from this book:--Don’t assume that all generic drugs are equivalent to brand name products, especially those that are supposed to release the ingredients slowly over time (e.g. products ending with “LA”, “SR”, or “XL”).--Political considerations sometimes trump public health and patient safety concerns at the FDA. Where is the accountability for the organization? House Energy and Commerce Committee members should read this book!--Along with accountability, the FDA needs more resources and funding. Since 2005, the number of plants and medicines manufactured outside the U.S. has exceeded the number inside the U.S. The FDA needs to be like the State Department, with dedicated international employees who understand the language and culture and reside for longer terms in other countries.I highly recommend this book to anyone who takes generic medicines, is considering taking generic medicines, or is involved in health policy. This should cover about 95% of Americans.

Once in a while, a book far exceeds my high expectations, and Bottle of Lies is just such a book. After reading the NYT rave review and the hearing author's interview on Fresh Air I knew it would be well-researched and reported, but I literally could not put it down! It reads like a thriller, but every word is true (perhaps it should be joint listed under "true crime").The main "character" is Ranbaxy, an Indian manufacturer of generic drugs, but in telling their story Ms. Eban also traces the global impact of the FDA's shockingly weak regulatory approach to generics made overseas. She discovers serious, sometimes life-threatening issues at companies from China, Israel, and the U.S where, despite mission statements to the contrary, drug companies are putting profit way before integrity. While the book highlights the heroic actions of particular FDA inspectors, the FDA's inability to protect our nation's medication supply is deeply disturbing -- at times it seems as if they are more focused on making life easy for overseas manufacturers than on protecting patients.The book is rightly getting quite a bit of press coverage, but the headlines alone don't convey the depth and breadth of the issue and how it can impact anyone who takes medication, prescribes medication or has a friend or family member who takes prescription medication. To really understand the issues, you will need to read the book. I'm grateful to Ms. Eban for having woven her deep investigative reporting into a compelling page-turner. Now I need to go check all our family's medications to make sure they are from safe sources!

Still reading it, I take a generic breast cancer pill, and if I take name-brand it doesn't have as many side effects. Lisa

In depth research on generic drug manufacturers has been done. Yet the narrative is easy to read without too much jargons. The author tells a story which is factual and frightening.

Leitura obrigatória para profissionais que atuam na área de saúde em especial na indústria farmacêutica! Um compilado histórico que demonstra claramente a evolução da indústria global de medicamentos genéricos e a evolução do FDA e do ambiente regulatório global. Para os que não atuam na área da saúde será certamente uma leitura muito interessante pois da uma visão clara e didática sobre as nuances dessa indústria.

As this book clearly illustrates, "you get what you pay for".My doctor refuses to prescribe generic drugs to me or all his patients and he has had this policy for 30+years, well before this book came out.This book illustrates why, and why I'm still living!. Granted, I'm in a financial position where I can easily afford brand-name drugs, but these bandits that run generic drug sweat shops in India and China do not care about patient safety - only profits, and the FDA is asleep at the switch approving these "drugs" bowing to political pressure. These gross violators should be jailed for life with no parole - They are the scum of the earthThank God for people like the FDA's Peter Baker and India's Dinesh Thakur who both had the moral fortitude to expose this scam threatening the lives of millions of people.I'm just hoping governments listen and pay heed, but they won't.

Great read!

Para que tengas tu propio conocimiento y puedas opinar sobre los que te dicen eso de que “el genérico es lo mismo que el original, pero sin marca”. Debería ser de obligada lectura para algunos ignorantes gestores del sistema sanitario público y los entusiastas de las subastas de medicamentos.