Bottle of Lies

The Inside Story of the Generic Drug Boom

By: Katherine Eban

Narrated by: Katherine Eban

Length: 14 hrs and 26 mins

Publisher's summary

From an award-winning Fortune reporter, an explosive narrative investigation of the generic drug boom that reveals the life-threatening dangers posed by globalization - The Jungle for pharmaceuticals.

The widespread use of generic drugs has been hailed as one of the most important public-health developments of the 20th century. Today, almost 90 percent of our pharmaceutical market is comprised of generics, the majority of which are manufactured overseas. We have been reassured by our pharmacists, our doctors, and our regulators that the generic and brand-name drugs are identical, generics just cheaper. But is this really true?

Katherine Eban’s Bottle of Lies exposes the widespread deceit behind generic-drug manufacturing - creating terrifying risks for global health. Drawing on exclusive accounts from whistle-blowers, inspectors, and regulators, as well as thousands of pages of confidential internal FDA documents, Eban reveals an industry where fraud is rampant, companies falsify data, and executives circumvent almost every principle of safe manufacturing to minimize cost and maximize profit. Meanwhile, patients unwittingly consume adulterated medicine with unpredictable and even life-threatening effects.

The story of generic drugs is truly global: It connects middle America to sub-Saharan Africa, China, India, and Brazil and encompasses every market banking on the promise of a low-cost cure. Given that tens of millions of patients take drugs of dubious quality approved with fake data, the generics industry is the ultimate litmus test of globalization: What is the risk of moving drug manufacturing offshore, and is it worth the savings?

An investigation with international sweep, exotic settings, molecular mayhem, and big money at its core, Bottle of Lies reveals how the world’s greatest public-health innovation has become one of its most astonishing swindles.

©2019 Katherine Eban (P)2019 HarperCollins Publishers

Excellent, eye opening work!

Every person should read this book to become aware of the risks that generic drugs are imposing to our health, even if we are not taking them ourselves. Katherine Eban masterfully reports the frauds in the over the seas manufacturing companies of generic drugs and brings into question the role of the FDA as a serious, trustworthy regulatory agency.

Gripping and enlightening ! A must read !

I could not put this one down, no matter how hard I tried. A really thorough analysis of the dark underbelly of generic drug industry in India.

The only issues I have with the author are -

1) 85% of the book is about fraud by Indian Generic Manufacturers. Similar issues in China are buried in the Epilogue. Issues with Generic Manufacturers in rest of the world are ommitted (e.g. Isreal, South America, Asia). I wonder if there is a hidden hand guiding this book.

2) There is literally one sentence about a controlled clinical trial comparing efficacy of Generics vs Brand Name drugs. This trial did not show any difference in efficacy or safety. Rest is lots and lots of anecdotes. Of course, you will have some people who will not respond when you have millions taking the Generics. Why would the author not cover adverse event rates in more detail?. Hidden hand ?

The biggest losers are the American people - They are screwed both ways - Go bankrupt if you buy Name Brands or Cross your fingers with Generics.

Corruption continues

Patients tell me every day that their medicine no longer works. Talking with their pharmacists they say that generics are identical to name brand drugs. They just never seem that way. These are questions that were finally answered in this book showing the absolute horrible corruption and disregard for human safety from companies and the Regulatory agencies turning a blind eye. I had heard about this but had no idea that it existed to this extent. Shocking. A must read for anybody in the medical profession but also for any and all patients who take medication. What you may be taking may not be any good. Pass it on

Frightening!

I now have a whole new perspective and distrust of not only generic drugs but the FDA itself. It’s unbelievable that so many have put politics and financial gain above people’s lives...Not to mention honesty and integrity!

Best boon of 2020

This is the best non fiction I have read on this topic. It was so well researched, written so well and eye opening for me. It has inspired me to be more cognizant or what drugs are being prescribed to my patients and to speak up like Thakur and dr Harry Leven. The history of the FDA and the basis of regulation the importance of good manufacturing processes were absolutely enlightening. The fraud being committed by multinational companies made me sick to the stomach. I hope this book makes everyone a more informed consumer and that we all question the drugs we are given.

Eye opening!

This book had me shaking me head in astonished disbelief. Eban simply and eloquently explains the every aspect of this book. I will be listening to this again very soon!

Outstanding book on the quality of generic drugs

This is an excellent book to guide yourself in the complex area of the quality of generic drugs and medical products at large. The author describes the intricacies of drug development and formulation and explains the manufacturing requirements for drug products in the way comprehendible for lay people. This book should be an eyeopener for those who think that the drug price needs to be the only criterion on which the choice should be based.

The book made me reconsider my attitude towards the U.S. FDA as a world benchmark for drug evaluation and control. It looks like the Agency chooses to protect corporate interests over public health. It put efforts to tackle the drug shortages allowing entering the market for substandard drugs which, as the author meticulously demonstrated, are harmful to patients; thus, trying to show itself as a public health advocate. However, in reality, the FDA looks no better than fraudulent drug manufacturers that put cheap low-quality drugs on the market at the expense of patients not only within the U.S. but around the world.

This was a titanic investigation, and there's still some hope that this work will contribute to improving the situation in the era where the lie is true, and the truth is a lie.

I'd grade the book 10 out of 5.

Eye opening

Should be required reading at every medical and pharmacy school. None of this was mentioned at my top tier medical school in the late 2000’s. The medical community as a whole remains largely unaware of these problems.

Eye opening. Well written. Relaxing performance.

Great narration and story to keep me relaxed at work. Definitely makes you think about the where and how your drugs are made.

You’ll never buy a generic drug again after reading this book.

You will never look at the generic drug industry in the same way again. This book tells the mind boggling story of a few amazing people’s efforts to keep the world safe from dangerous generic drugs. It documents the power of profits/money over patients safety. It makes you want to rise up in arms against all the people, institutions, and firms that lack the integrity to act in the interest of public health. And, at a minimum, you’ll want to avoid generic drugs produced in places like India and China.