After time on the job with an Indian generic drug company, Dinesh Thankur found they were falsifying data and making subpar drugs. Here, he tells what happened next and explains:

• Why there is nothing to prevent these companies from making such spurious drugs.
• Why the Pharmacy Benefit Manager role in the United States is key to this dangerous pattern.
• What are examples of actions citizens might engage in to make seemingly minor yet majorly significant changes.

Mr. Thakur was hired by an Indian generic drug company because of his expertise in the pharmaceutical and business field. However, as his work progressed, he found out that this company was manufacturing data in addition to subpar generic drug products.

He made clear his objections, left, and worked with the US FDA over eight years to stop this company. In this discussion, he describes his next steps to help the prosecution and elaborates on the dangerous void in pharmaceutical quality assurance for the oversea production of generic drugs.

Journalist Katherine Eban’s discussion of his story in her acclaimed book Bottle of Lies brought his battle into public view. Mr. Thakur continues to shine public light on the grave problems with pharmaceutical quality assurance, specifically overseas generic drug manufacturing. He describes the lack of oversight and inability to practice solid inspections.

He lists contributing factors like Medicaid’s inability to negotiate prices and how that leads to this spurious drug production. Mr. Thakur also offers actionable measures we can practice to bring about change, small actions that actually have the power to engender larger and more significant results.

For more about Dinesh Thakur and his contact information, see https://dineshthakur.com/.

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