Last year, we blogged about reports of unusually high levels of APIs in the water supplies in and around Patancheru, a hotbed of drug manufacturing in India. (Here are several posts, including interviews with The Land Institute’s expert Stan Cox.)

A few weeks back we posted a list of the companies that were manufacturing H1N1 vaccines, and since that time many of them have been approved, either in the U.S. or abroad. Here's an update:

When it was reported months back that India had a problem with pharmaceutical pollutants in groundwater, many were alarmed but few were surprised. When drinking water contamination was exposed in the U.S. more recently, many were surprised. Should we be alarmed?

Did anyone miss President Obama's recent announcement that he plans to put an end to corporate tax loopholes (a mainstay for every major pharma and biotech company in the world....)More from Bloomberg and the President himself. 

Some of those in favor of relaxed reimportation often argue that the drug industry is fear mongering when it points to potential safety problems with drugs or ingredients sourced from abroad. "Be afraid, be very afraid. "  Well, recent events have shown that there is reason for fear....or at least for extreme caution when ensuring the pedigree of any raw materials  sourced from abroad. 

I spent yesterday afternoon at the Forum for Medical Innovation in downtown Chicago, hosted by the Council for American Medical Innovation and moderated by former U.S. House of Representatives majority leader Dick Gephardt. The event also featured AstraZeneca CEO David Brennan as a guest speaker. David Brennan

Microsoft's new Project Vikas is meant to be a shot in the arm for many of the cluster economic sectors in India, but it was introduced in Hyderabad and is meant to directly impact the IT effectiveness of the local pharma companies.

 
--PWT

Today, the terrifying image of Chernobyl was invoked to describe what could happen if the pharma industry fails to deal with the problem of active ingredients within the water supply (as seen and documented in Patancheru, India.)

Pardon the title, but on the heels of last night's Oscar best picture victory by Slumdog Millionaire, it's helpful to remind ourselves of the huge influence that the pharmaceutical industry, both Indian domestic and pharma worldwide, is having upon India, its economy . . . and unfortunately on its environment.