Unfortunately, thanks to globalization, India's health problems become our health problems. A recent NY Times article [1] said:
Medicines Made in India Set Off Safety Worries
...
India’s pharmaceutical industry supplies 40 percent
of over-the-counter and generic prescription drugs
consumed in the United States
BTW we're even more dependent on China. The same article goes on to say:
The crucial ingredients for nearly all antibiotics,
steroids and many other lifesaving drugs are now
made exclusively in China.
Edit: I may not have made my point clear. What I'm referring to is a cultural issue. What I would consider to be the "casual" attitude in large parts of India toward sanitation means they might not be as conscientious in adhering to proper manufacturing safety procedures as I would like.
The NY Times also ran a recent article on poor sanitation in India. [2]
If workers at pharmaceutical plants are going home every day to "casual" attitudes about sanitation, they are much more likely to have these same "casual" attitudes at work. If they're not worried about things like "night soil", they probably aren't worried about contamination at work, either.
It's easy to have problems making pharmaceuticals. It's bad enough in the USA, I'm sure its worse in third world countries. E.g. here's something that an FDA report said [1]:
Microbial contamination is a risk to biologic product
quality and safety. The cost of inadequate microbial
control in biologic product manufacture is enormous
as facilities or bioreactor production trains may
have to be shut down for lengthy periods of time
...
The recent cases of bacterial contamination of
biologic products suggest that preventative
maintenance plans ... need further attention.
Sorry, I know this is a horrible stereotype. But what happened to the "good old days" when the Swiss made our medicine?
The NY Times also ran a recent article on poor sanitation in India. [2]
[1] http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/15/world/asia/medicines-made-...
[2] http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/15/world/asia/poor-sanitation...