Outsourcing: The Whole is Only as Good as the Sum of Its Parts!

One of the little known facts about the pharmaceutical industry is how much of its manufacturing is outsourced. Over 80% of the pharmaceutical ingredients used in the manufacture of US drugs are outsourced to foreign countries, with a majority of these ingredients coming from China and India.

Understandably, with the current news on the contamination of heparin in the US supply and the role the Chinese supplier played in this case being questioned, quality control has become a major concern. Since the whole is only as good as the sum of the individual pieces, should we not be questioning the quality and safety of all outsourced materials?

Timely testing of these ingredients should greatly reduce quality issues, adverse reactions and recalls. After all, diligence in safety of what goes in to our bodies cannot be overstated!