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

256 Pages·2018·2.01 MB·English

by  Rosemary Gibson

“China Rx is a must-read for everyone who takes, makes, regulates, or sells a prescription drug or an over-
the-counter medicine. It is a heroic and critical exploration into one of the greatest threats to both our
national and health securities. China literally holds the health of much of the world in its business-driven
hands. This is scarier than a Stephen King novel.”
—Michael T. Osterholm, Regents Professor, University of Minnesota,
and author of Deadliest Enemy: Our War against Killer Germs
“China Rx describes a major threat to the strategic position of the United States in the world, a matter
affecting this country's health and its economic and social well-being. This book reveals how the loss of the
manufacturing capability and control of the supply of critical medicines, and their component ingredients,
endangers the medical future of the American public while also posing a serious threat to our economy as
well. The authors prescribe what must be done to remedy this major deficiency in our nation's public health
infrastructure.”
—Edwin Meese III, seventy-fifth United States attorney general
“China Rx exposes the scary truth that a great number of prescription drugs and over-the-counter medicines
in the United States have ingredients from China. There should be tougher import standards, a requirement
for pharmaceutical companies to label a drug's origins, and a reversal of US dependence on China.”
—Jim Guest, former president, Consumer Reports
“Everyone who has ever taken a pill needs to read this book. The American people won't be happy when
they find out that many of the medicines they rely on are being made in China where regulations aren't
enforced and/or documents are falsified. Homegrown industries where our members work are being
decimated in a stealth attack on America's health security. Good family supporting jobs are being sacrificed
for greed-driven corporate decisions. We need to bring good-paying jobs back home.”
—Leo W. Gerard, international president, United Steelworkers
“Far too many Americans only see national security as a product of having strong armed forces, and while
strong armed forces are an important part of a strong national security, it is just one of many components.
Another equally important component of national security is the nation's supply chain. If a nation's supply
chain of critical equipment is not secure, then one must ask just how secure the nation is. Rosemary Gibson
and Janardan Prasad Singh do an outstanding job of guiding the reader through the inherent risk to the
United States of becoming dependent on any one country, such as China, as a source for vital medicines,
and the risks from weak enforcement of safety standards and quality control by foreign manufacturers.”
—Maj. Gen. Larry J. Lust, US Army (ret.)
“China Rx is a compelling book that reveals America's troubling dependence on China for essential
medicines and the pattern in US-China trade where intellectual property and value-added production are
shifted to China to the detriment of US workers, businesses, national security, and the health of our
citizens.”
—Daniel Slane, commissioner, US-China Economic and Security Review Commission
“The authors have done a great service by examining America's dependence on China for essential
medicines and how it happened. China Rx is a wake-up call for the public and policy makers to bring drug
manufacturing home, safeguard American jobs, and strengthen national security.”
—Scott N. Paul, president, Alliance for American Manufacturing
—Scott N. Paul, president, Alliance for American Manufacturing
“The authors tell how the institutions we trust have sold out to China and thrown American patients under
the bus! As a quality professional, I am appalled that so many people care more about cost than the quality
of our medicines. China Rx would make a great suspense thriller movie.”
—Martin VanTrieste, former senior vice president for quality, Amgen
“China Rx opens our eyes to another key industry whose intellectual property and productive capacity are
being transferred to China. The authors make a strong case that manufacturing our own vital medicines is a
strategic asset and bringing it home is essential. The reshoring of this industry will bring good jobs home,
help rebuild our prosperity, and strengthen our national security.”
—Patrick A. Mulloy, former assistant secretary, US Department of Commerce
International Trade Administration
“China Rx makes an overwhelming case for the pharmaceutical industry to board the reshoring train. The
United States is far too dependent on a country whose short-term interest is to grow rapidly at our expense
and whose long-term interest will only be clear when it becomes the world's dominant economic and
military power. Industries from apparel to transportation equipment are bringing manufacturing back home,
and the pharmaceutical industry needs to do the same.”
—Harry C. Moser, founder and president, Reshoring Initiative

Published 2018 by Prometheus Books
China Rx: Exposing the Risks of America's Dependence on China for Medicine. Copyright © 2018 by
Rosemary Gibson and Janardan Prasad Singh. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be
reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, digital, electronic,
mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, or conveyed via the Internet or a website without prior
written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and
reviews.
Cover design by Jacqueline Nasso Cooke
Cover image © Arun Benjamin Christensen/Shutterstock Cover design © Prometheus Books
This book is based on information in the public domain and from expert opinion. The views expressed are
the authors’ observations. Patients with questions about their medication should talk with their doctor. This
book is not intended to provide medical advice.
In an effort to acknowledge trademarked names of products and brands mentioned in this work, we have
SM
placed ®, , or ™ after the name in the first instance of its use in each chapter. Subsequent mentions of
the name within a given chapter appear without the symbol. Any errors or omissions will be corrected in
subsequent editions, provided that notification is sent to the publisher.
The internet addresses listed in the text were accurate at the time of publication. The inclusion of a website
does not indicate an endorsement by the author(s) or by Prometheus Books, and Prometheus Books does not
guarantee the accuracy of the information presented at these sites.
Inquiries should be addressed to
Prometheus Books
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Gibson, Rosemary, 1956-author. | Singh,
Janardan Prasad, 1960-author.
Title: China Rx : exposing the risks of America's dependence on China for medicine / Rosemary Gibson,
Janardan Prasad Singh.
Other titles: Exposing the risks of America's dependence on China for medicine Description: Amherst, New
York : Prometheus Books, 2018. | Includes index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2017041442 (print) | LCCN 2017042236 (ebook) | ISBN 9781633883826 (ebook) |
ISBN 9781633883819 (hardback) Subjects: | MESH: Drug Industry—ethics | Pharmaceutical
Preparations | Drug Contamination | Quality Control | Internationality | United States | China
Classification: LCC HD9665.5 (ebook) | LCC HD9665.5 (print) | NLM QV 736 AA1 | DDC
338.4/76151—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017041442
Printed in the United States of America

Preface
Acknowledgments
PART I: THE DIFFERENCE A COUNTRY MAKES
Chapter 1: “They Took My Heart Away”
Chapter 2: What's in Your Medicine Cabinet?
Chapter 3: Washington Wakes Up
PART II: PIVOT EAST: HOW IT HAPPENED
Chapter 4: “These Drugs Can Reach Anyone Including the President”
Chapter 5: The Vitamin C and Penicillin Cartels
Chapter 6: The China Trap
Chapter 7: The Great American Sellout
Chapter 8: Today's Gain, Tomorrow's Pain
PART III: THE HIDDEN COST OF CHEAP DRUGS
Chapter 9: Are Drugs from China Safe?
Chapter 10: Made in China, Sue in America? Good Luck
Chapter 11: The Perfect Crime
Chapter 12: Where Does the Secretary of Defense Procure His Medicine?
Chapter 13: China Bashing? Take a Look at This
PART IV: BRING IT HOME
Chapter 14: A Ten-Step Plan to Bring It Home
Appendix: How to Find Out Where Your Medicines Are Made
Notes
Index