Carcinogens Have Infiltrated the Generic Drug Supply in the U.S. • Hacker News Board

Re: Carcinogens Have Infiltrated the Generic Drug Supply in the U.S.

#11

Post by strainer » Fri, Sep 13, 2019, 6:23 PM UTC

fucking_tragedy wrote: post #5

knolax wrote: post #3

> Some of the contaminated valsartan contains as much as 17 micrograms of NDMA in a single pill. That’s equivalent to eating 48 pounds of bacon. The FDA estimates that for every 8,000 people who took the highest dose of contaminated valsartan daily for four years, there would be one additional occurrence of cancer. Given the relatively small significance and the fact that this article was published in an issue with t…

For a blood pressure medication, 1 in 8,000 is not a small risk. Serzone, an antidepressant, has a similar risk rate for inducing liver failure, and was taken off the market.

It demonstrates a not insignificant risk but it would be from taking the most contaminated batch of the product for 4 years. If a patient took the most contaminated sample found for 4 years there would be a 1/8000 chance of cancer from it. It illustrates this level of contamination should be a concern but it seems unlikely anyone could be exposed continuously to this highest detected level.

Re: Carcinogens Have Infiltrated the Generic Drug Supply in the U.S.

#12

Post by gwbas1c » Fri, Sep 13, 2019, 6:30 PM UTC

JMTQp8lwXL wrote: post #6

I wonder if the point of this, is to have us weigh getting "brand name" more seriously. There is no sensible reason to pay a premium for brand name if the generic is chemically equivalent.

Yes there is.

It's primarily based around different characteristics of how the medication dissolves in the patient's stomach, or the differences between fillers and binders.

Re: Carcinogens Have Infiltrated the Generic Drug Supply in the U.S.

#13

Post by armitron » Fri, Sep 13, 2019, 6:31 PM UTC

Now imagine what level of contamination is going on in supplements which are completely unregulated in the US (unlike the EU).

Re: Carcinogens Have Infiltrated the Generic Drug Supply in the U.S.

#14

Post by aresant » Fri, Sep 13, 2019, 6:32 PM UTC

I would pay good money for a supply chain based “consumer reports” so I actually know what’s in my products eg

- medicines! - supplements - food - clothing

Clearly in the USA their is gigantic demand for organic / harmful chemical free products.

Re: Carcinogens Have Infiltrated the Generic Drug Supply in the U.S.

#15

Post by devoply » Fri, Sep 13, 2019, 6:38 PM UTC

aresant wrote: post #14

I would pay good money for a supply chain based “consumer reports” so I actually know what’s in my products eg - medicines! - supplements - food - clothing Clearly in the USA their is gigantic demand for organic / harmful chemical free products.

Seems like a good differentiator for a retailer... Maybe online only retailer. Maybe someone like Walmart trying to compete with Amazon.

Re: Carcinogens Have Infiltrated the Generic Drug Supply in the U.S.

#16

Post by wtvanhest » Fri, Sep 13, 2019, 6:39 PM UTC

Quick question. Title says "generic", but obviously there is a massive economic interest in switching people from generics to non-generics. Is this contamination also possible in non-generics???

Re: Carcinogens Have Infiltrated the Generic Drug Supply in the U.S.

#17

Post by [deleted] » Fri, Sep 13, 2019, 6:41 PM UTC

JMTQp8lwXL wrote: post #6

I wonder if the point of this, is to have us weigh getting "brand name" more seriously. There is no sensible reason to pay a premium for brand name if the generic is chemically equivalent.

[deleted]

Re: Carcinogens Have Infiltrated the Generic Drug Supply in the U.S.

#18

Post by MegaButts » Fri, Sep 13, 2019, 6:43 PM UTC

gwbas1c wrote: post #12

JMTQp8lwXL wrote: post #6

I wonder if the point of this, is to have us weigh getting "brand name" more seriously. There is no sensible reason to pay a premium for brand name if the generic is chemically equivalent.

Yes there is. It's primarily based around different characteristics of how the medication dissolves in the patient's stomach, or the differences between fillers and binders.

Doesn't that mean they're not chemically equivalent?

Re: Carcinogens Have Infiltrated the Generic Drug Supply in the U.S.

#19

Post by lostmsu » Fri, Sep 13, 2019, 6:45 PM UTC

KingMachiavelli wrote: post #2

> By 2014, the FDA had closed its offices in Shanghai and Guangzhou, leaving only the Beijing office with inspectors who could visit Chinese factories on short notice. > The FDA checks less than 1% of drugs for impurities or potency before letting them into the country. For a regulator body who's job it is to make sure medical products are safe and available. These comments, if true, lend credability that the FDA is…

>> The FDA checks less than 1% of drugs for impurities or potency before letting them into the country.

> For a regulator body who's job it is to make sure medical products are safe and available. These comments, if true, lend credability that the FDA is more regulatory capture than actual useful regulation.

I wonder though if this statement misrepresents the facts. If they check only 1% of the entire import volume at random, that is totally normal and what I'd expect them to do.

Re: Carcinogens Have Infiltrated the Generic Drug Supply in the U.S.

#20

Post by ceejayoz » Fri, Sep 13, 2019, 6:45 PM UTC

devoply wrote: post #15

aresant wrote: post #14

I would pay good money for a supply chain based “consumer reports” so I actually know what’s in my products eg - medicines! - supplements - food - clothing Clearly in the USA their is gigantic demand for organic / harmful chemical free products.

Seems like a good differentiator for a retailer... Maybe online only retailer. Maybe someone like Walmart trying to compete with Amazon.

Amazon (ironically enough, given their counterfeiting problems) has been doing this for their Elements supplement brand.

Example: https://www.amazon.com/Amazon-Elements-Multivitamin-Cultured...

You can scan a QR code and get the test results for the specific batch included in the bottle.