Fans of cheap generic drugs might want to pay attention. Because if there s a better example of you get what you pay for, it is not obvious.
Indian generic drug giant Ranbaxy was just slapped with a $500 million penalty for selling four contaminated, sub-standard drugs, and also lying about it by falsifying records. And this is far from the first time that the company has found itself in the limelight. Going back almost 10 years reveals a history of sloppiness and deception at the company, including glass particles in their generic version of Lipitor.
ACSH s Dr. Josh Bloom says, It is astounding what our government and healthcare providers are willing to put up with to cut healthcare costs. He continues, At some point this will backfire, and we will see episodes of serious adverse effects and probably deaths.
You can read his latest op-ed entitled Generic Roulette here.
