Indian tycoon Dr. Yusuf Hamied fights big pharma

July 15, 2019 6:34 AM

AIDS Medication Produced and Sold for $1 Per Day “We cannot afford not to (help.)” became the driving force behind Cipla’s production of AIDS cocktail. Hamied said in response to accusation of an ulterior motive: “Of course I have an ulterior motive: before I die, I want to do some good.”
posted by Yellow (5 comments total)

This appears to be a heavily edited except from Katherine Eban's "Bottle of Lies", which is a strange choice when you consider that the book is dedicated to exposing shocking levels of incompetence (and sometimes willful malfeasance) that have lead (mostly Indian) generic drug manufacturers to flood the market with defective drugs, as well as the US FDA's reluctance to keep generic drugmakers in check. A good portion of the book is spent covering how Cipla and others failed to deliver safe and effective drugs, including low cost AIDS/HIV treatments, to charities and governments in the developing world.
posted by BrandonW at 6:49 AM on July 15, 2019 [9 favorites]

As GlaxoSmithKline’s CEO Jean-Pierre Garnier declared of Cipla and the Indian generics companies at a 2001 health care forum, “They are pirates. That’s about what they are. They have never done a day of research in their lives.”

As opposed to Jean-Pierre Garnier, who merely hasn't done a day of research since the early 70s.
posted by Copronymus at 8:12 AM on July 15, 2019 [1 favorite]

Sir! I will have you know that the Garnier Laboratoire is the most advanced chemical research center in the world!
posted by Saxon Kane at 9:52 AM on July 15, 2019

(or Ma'am! or Non-binary!)
posted by Saxon Kane at 9:53 AM on July 15, 2019 [1 favorite]

@Saxon Kane, I’m a female, but I do appreciate the consideration of all options! ;)
posted by Yellow at 5:07 AM on July 16, 2019