726 Generic Drug Controversy

Generic drugs are supposed to be identical to their brand-name counterparts, but they are much cheaper. That’s why so many insurance companies and HMOs insist upon their use. Reports have been cropping up that suggest not all generic drugs meet the high quality standards Americans expect. We get perspectives from the generic drug manufacturers, a scientist analyzing FDA adverse event data, and an investigative journalist who took a year to look into the issue. Guests: Kathleen Jaeger, president and CEO of the Generic Pharmaceutical Association Thomas J. Moore, senior scientist at the Institute for Safe Medication Practices Katherine Eban, investigative journalist specializing in health care. Author of Dangerous Doses: A True Story of Cops, Counterfeiters and the Contamination of America’s Drug Supply and of “Bad Bargain,” an article in the June issue of SELF. The photo is of Ms. Eban.