China Rx: Exposing the Risks of America's Dependence on China for Medicine

Prescription drugs made in China are being used by millions of Americans without their knowledge, and pharmaceutical companies are not eager to disclose this information. This is a wake-up call for improving the drug supply and manufacturing system, as it is inherently risky for the US to become dependent on any one country for vital medicines. Lapses in safety standards and quality control in Chinese manufacturing are also a risk.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 314 pages
Publication date: 15 March 2022
Publisher: Prometheus Books

Millions of Americans are taking prescription drugs made in China and don't know it--and pharmaceutical companies are not eager to tell them. This is a disturbing, well-researched wake-up call for improving the current system of drug supply and manufacturing.Several decades ago, penicillin, vitamin C, and many other prescription and over-the-counter products were manufactured in the United States. But with the rise of globalization, antibiotics, antidepressants, birth control pills, blood pressure medicines, cancer drugs, among many others are made in China and sold in the United States.China's biggest impact on the US drug supply is making essential ingredients for thousands of medicines found in American homes and used in hospital intensive care units and operating rooms.The authors convincingly argue that there are at least two major problems with this scenario. First, it is inherently risky for the United States to become dependent on any one country as a source for vital medicines, especially given the uncertainties of geopolitics. For example, if an altercation in the South China Sea causes military personnel to be wounded, doctors may rely upon medicines with essential ingredients made by the adversary. Second, lapses in safety standards and quality control in Chinese manufacturing are a risk. Citing the concerns of FDA officials and insiders within the pharmaceutical industry, the authors document incidents of illness and death caused by contaminated medications that prompted reform.This probing book examines the implications of our reliance on China on the quality and availability of vital medicines.

Weight: 472g
Dimension: 150 x 229 x 23 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781633886414