Drug production in the Far East – Stiftung Warentest has examined quality standards

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Silent pharmaceutical industry
Stiftung Warentest had many questions about the production of medicines in the Far East – and only got meager answers

Many people are dependent on medication every day because of chronic diseases.

© DPA

07/23/2022, 15:24

2 min reading time

Many pharmaceutical companies have their active ingredients produced in the Far East. Stiftung Warentest wanted to find out how well manufacturers maintain quality and set social and environmental standards. But the industry is walling.

Whether it’s antihypertensives, thyroid hormones or drugs to treat cardiovascular diseases – for many people the day begins by swallowing a pill. But how high is the quality in the production of pharmaceuticals and are environmental and social standards met? Stiftung Warentest wanted to answer these questions with a survey of pharmaceutical manufacturers. But they got scant answers.

According to estimates, the pharmaceutical industry has 80 percent of its active ingredients manufactured outside the EU and the USA, primarily in China and India. The negative consequences of the production of medicines and other medical products such as surgical masks in third countries have been shown in the past: If there are supply bottlenecks, medicines can become scarce all over the world.

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Three pharmaceutical companies do not provide any information

Stiftung Warentest sent a questionnaire to ten pharmaceutical manufacturers that have a particularly large number of drugs in the Warentester drug database. The manufacturers were asked about their company’s drug, which users in 2021 would refer to “Test.de” have searched most frequently. For example, the blood thinner Plavix and the shingles drug Zostex. But the industry was not very willing to provide information. Berlin-Chemie, Pfizer and Sanofi did not answer any of the questions. Others only gave short, general information. The greatest insight granted by four generic drug manufacturers. Generic drugs are inexpensive imitation drugs of drugs with expired patents. Three generic drug manufacturers stated that they pay attention to quality from suppliers. This is a fulfillment of the legal obligation.

According to Stiftung Warentest, little can be found out about the working conditions in Chinese and Indian locations of pharmaceutical companies. Environmental standards do not seem to play a major role: studies and research in the past have shown that the waters around the production sites in India and China are contaminated with antibiotics. Resistant germs could also be detected. The spread of such germs would be problematic because no antibiotics help against them.

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Cinnamon Cinnamon is not just cinnamon. There is real cinnamon or Ceylon cinnamon as well as cassia cinnamon, which originally comes from China. This one is sweeter, more flavorful, and cheaper. In Europe and the USA it is mainly used in the kitchen. Most studies on the health effects are also carried out with cassia cinnamon: it promotes appetite, stimulates intestinal activity and counteracts feelings of fullness and flatulence - making food more digestible. Some fungal diseases and bacteria can be combated with cinnamon extracts. A number of laboratory tests show that cassia cinnamon can also lower blood sugar levels. Both the release of insulin and the uptake of glucose into the cells were higher. Human studies, however, are somewhat conflicting: some show that taking at least 1 gram daily over a long period of time improves insulin action and fat burning. Others could not demonstrate this effect. Cassia cinnamon also contains the ingredient coumarin, which can damage the liver in weakened and sensitive individuals.

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Cinnamon is not just cinnamon. There is real cinnamon or Ceylon cinnamon as well as cassia cinnamon, which originally comes from China. This one is sweeter, more flavorful, and cheaper. In Europe and the USA it is mainly used in the kitchen. Most studies on the health effects are also carried out with cassia cinnamon: it promotes appetite, stimulates intestinal activity and counteracts feelings of fullness and flatulence – making food more digestible. Some fungal diseases and bacteria can be combated with cinnamon extracts. A number of laboratory tests show that cassia cinnamon can also lower blood sugar levels. Both the release of insulin and the uptake of glucose into the cells were higher. Human studies, however, are somewhat conflicting: some show that taking at least 1 gram daily over a long period of time improves insulin action and fat burning. Others could not demonstrate this effect. Cassia cinnamon also contains the ingredient coumarin, which can damage the liver in weakened and sensitive individuals.

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High quality standards for medicines on the European market

“Medicines from the Far East are not automatically bad,” says Ulrike Holzgrabe, professor of pharmaceutical and medicinal chemistry at the University of Würzburg, to Stiftung Warentest. High quality standards must be maintained for medicines that come onto the market in the EU. The expert also says that it is “comparatively difficult to control a manufacturer if it is based outside the EU.”

You can find the whole report at Stiftung Warentest.

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