CVS promotes its store-brand over-the-counter drugs as economical alternatives to national brands. Also referred to as "private label" drugs, CVS-brand products are twice as profitable for the company as sales of national brands, but questions are now arising about the quality of these medications.
Ranbaxy Laboratories, the company which manufactures many of CVS's private label products, has been slammed by the Food and Drug Administration for improperly testing the quality of its drugs. According to the International Herald Tribune,
This is not the first time the FDA has cited problems with Ranbaxy's product quality. In June 2006, FDA inspectors issued the company a warning letter on its stability testing practices at a Ranbaxy factory, and in 2007, the company had to recall 73 million anti-seizure tablets produced at that same facility. In July 2008, the Justice Department accused Ranbaxy of "systematic fraudulent conduct, including submissions by Ranbaxy to the FDA that contain false and fabricated information about stability and bioequivalence, failure to timely report the distribution of drugs that were out of specification ("OOS"), and attempts to conceal violations of current Good Manufacturing Practices (cGMP) regulations from the FDA."
With so many citations of fraud and misconduct, it's no small wonder that the FDA has refused to review new medication submissions from Ranbaxy. With its customers' health on the line, why has CVS refused to cut ties with this untrustworthy company?
FDA halts review of drugs from Ranbaxy plant [International Herald Tribune]
Ranbaxy Laboratories, the company which manufactures many of CVS's private label products, has been slammed by the Food and Drug Administration for improperly testing the quality of its drugs. According to the International Herald Tribune,
"In one instance, company officials refrigerated drugs then indicated they had been stored at room temperature. At other times the company lied about the number and frequency of safety tests conducted."
This is not the first time the FDA has cited problems with Ranbaxy's product quality. In June 2006, FDA inspectors issued the company a warning letter on its stability testing practices at a Ranbaxy factory, and in 2007, the company had to recall 73 million anti-seizure tablets produced at that same facility. In July 2008, the Justice Department accused Ranbaxy of "systematic fraudulent conduct, including submissions by Ranbaxy to the FDA that contain false and fabricated information about stability and bioequivalence, failure to timely report the distribution of drugs that were out of specification ("OOS"), and attempts to conceal violations of current Good Manufacturing Practices (cGMP) regulations from the FDA."
With so many citations of fraud and misconduct, it's no small wonder that the FDA has refused to review new medication submissions from Ranbaxy. With its customers' health on the line, why has CVS refused to cut ties with this untrustworthy company?
FDA halts review of drugs from Ranbaxy plant [International Herald Tribune]
