TEDMED

06.17.20

A dose of reality about generic drugs

12 years ago, Investigative Journalist Katherine Eban received a phone call that would be the start of the investigation of a lifetime. Katherine walks us through the horrifying truths of generics, validated by over a decade of whistleblower interviews, on-the-ground reporting across four continents, and the tracking of confidential files from the FDA, generic drug companies, and courts. Katherine’s investigation reveals a world of for-profit substandard drugs that are passed off as legitimate generics through defiance of FDA regulation and fraud. Katherine is on a public health mission to save the health of patients around the world. She insists that solutions to the overseas generic drug manufacturing problems lie in the hands of the FDA.