According to a poll of 802 registered voters by the Pew Charitable Trust's Prescription Project, more than three out of four are confident that prescription drugs made in the USA are free from contamination. However, fewer than one in 10 feel confident about medications made in India or China.
But what “made” represents can be misleading. On the one hand it means “manufactured.” On the other it means “with ingredients from.” And the two aren’t the same thing.
This is an important distinction for a number of reasons – especially when you’re asking the question to a general audience. When you ask someone about their feelings about where a drug is “made,” they are going to assume that “made” means “manufactured.” And while that’s important – it’s only part of the story.
An estimated 80% of the substances used to make or package drugs sold in the United States are made in other countries – and increasingly those “other countries” are India and China. Globally, in 2007, 68% of ingredients of drugs sold worldwide came from India or China, vs. 49% in 2004.
As far as products that are manufactured abroad, it’s important for the American public to understand that the exact same GMP’s are required as a plant in the Lower 48. The Pew poll didn’t share that information. It’s a game changer.
More important is the issue of ingredients sourced from foreign nations. Heparin comes to mind. (In 2007 and 2008, more than 100 patients in the USA died after taking heparin made with a contaminated active ingredient from China.) Attention must be paid and enhanced oversight is essential.
From the legislative standpoint is the Drug Safety and Accountability Act of 2010, to be introduced today by Senator Michael Bennet (D, CO). The bill would empower the FDA to order recalls of unsafe batches of drugs. This recognizes the reality that the concept of “total recall” of a drug is a very 20th century concept.
