Drug Recalls and Jet Planes, oh my!
Often prescribed and widely used blood pressure medication valsartan is being recalled. It is contaminated with a known carcinogen NMDA, N-Nitrosodimethylamine. Millions of people taking this have been poisoned. The drug companies bought the active ingredient for their valsartan from Zhejiang Huahai Pharmaceutical Co., one of China’s biggest generic companies.
Generic drugs are manufactured mostly in India and China. Generic drug manufacture is self regulated, no oversight. Drug companies, like most industrial operations are primarily concerned about profits and lowering cost. Quality is the first value to be discarded when large profits are concerned. Cheap solvents saved money but created contamination. This contamination was detected, but ignored, until it could no longer be ignored.
Cancer caused by contaminated medicine will certainly kill and sicken many people. People trying to stay healthy following their doctor’s directions. But some chemist in some factory in some far away place made a mistake and millions die or are sickened. Why? For more money or to save money or because the FDA trusts companies to self regulate.
Just like the Boeing 737 Max and FAA. They lie we die.