FDA finally gets around to banning exports from Indian drug company
If I don't have you concerned about the FDA's effectiveness yet, get a load of this. The FDA recently stopped the import of more than 30 generic drugs from the giant Ranbaxy Laboratories in India.
Sounds good, right? A government agency stepping in and protecting us from dangerous drugs. But, wait – there's more.
The FDA cited Ranbaxy for "repeated" manufacturing problems that could affect potency or cause allergic reactions with drugs produced at two of its factories. By "repeated," I mean that the problems were previously identified, and Ranbaxy kept manufacturing and shipping drugs.
In the mother of all cover-your-butt maneuvers, the FDA says consumers shouldn't be concerned about Ranbaxy drugs they already have. Testing hasn't shown any contamination, they say.
The FDA also has pointed out that the manufacturing problems were separate from an "ongoing" criminal investigation into whether the Indian laboratories fabricated test results on the quality of their drugs. And by "ongoing" I mean that the FDA has allowed the company to sell drugs while it was under criminal investigation.
Looks like the FDA was willing to extend the American principle of "innocent until proven guilty" to overseas companies. I'm not sure that, when public safety is concerned, that's the right move.
