Guinea Pigs For Drug Companies?

[talatnat]

Like many others here, I check all doctor- and pharmacy-prescribed drugs on the Internet before I let my family (wife, two kids) take them. I am trying not to be alarmist but off late I've found a few instances of drugs that are prescribed here but not elsewhere on planet earth. It's like nasal decongestants and antacids and weight-reduction medicines.

In my 'Net searches I use both the pharmaceutical and tradenames, and Google USA can only spit out Thai websites for drugs from the US, Germany, UK, Switzerland, Japan.

Anybody else encounter this? I'm just wondering if lax Thai FDA laws are enabling companies to test their drugs here before more widespread marketing?

[lingling]

Like many others here, I check all doctor- and pharmacy-prescribed drugs on the Internet before I let my family (wife, two kids) take them. I am trying not to be alarmist but off late I've found a few instances of drugs that are prescribed here but not elsewhere on planet earth. It's like nasal decongestants and antacids and weight-reduction medicines.

In my 'Net searches I use both the pharmaceutical and tradenames, and Google USA can only spit out Thai websites for drugs from the US, Germany, UK, Switzerland, Japan.

Anybody else encounter this? I'm just wondering if lax Thai FDA laws are enabling companies to test their drugs here before more widespread marketing?

Got any examples? (Post as much details as you have, trade- & generic name, manufacturer, photos etc...)

[daleyboy]

I agree the drugs in thailand can certainly be a bit suspect, even those prescribed by doctors. My wife had tonsilitis(sp) so we went to see a doctor at a big int hospital in Bkk. The doc checked her over and then prescibed about 6 different types of tablets. I did say at the time is this right? He said yes to take the tablets and she would be ok. Anyway she finished the course of tablets, and yes she got better for a bit, but after about 6 weeks was ill again.

I was flying back to the uk for a couple of weeks to sort sme business out, so when i came back i had managed to pick up a course of antibiotics that my mum hadnt used, my wife took a week course of these and she has never had tonsilitis(sp) again.

The drugs the doc prescribed i think were just very mild forms of antibiotics and were more to make money rather than cure my wife

These days i never rely on tablets in Thailand, i think there are so many fakes and untested drugs out there, you really need to find a pharmacy that you can trust to supply you with the real thing

[Prakanong2005]

"I'm just wondering if lax Thai FDA laws are enabling companies to test their drugs here before more widespread marketing?"

In a word no

I work in Clinical Trials for a major pharma and yes we do run trials in Thailand and can assure you the Thai FDA are not lax.

It can take a long time to get approval for a drug trial in Thailand and while a lot of that is red tape they do scrutinise the protoocol.

There wil not be any major pharma running any trials in Thailand that do not comply with world-wide standard based on GCP (Good Clinical Practice) - if they did it would be heard wide and loud and the results un-useable.

Just as in any drug trial the person taking the drug must do so with fully informed consent - the fact that this has to be in their own language and in terms they will understand is another GCP condition always applied.

Many countries have a publication called MIMS (Monthly Index of Medical Specialities) - Thailand does too and its in English - ask any half decent pharmacist to have a look at theirs and look up the licensed drugs in Thailand - together with who makes them.

I have used this many times to point out to pharmaciists what I want.

[talatnat]

In a word no

Thanks, that pretty much sums it up.

[Prakanong2005]

In a word no

Thanks, that pretty much sums it up.

Well I am speaking at a Conference/ Workshop down in Singapore in a couple of weeks time and the whole of our Asia Pacific Region will be there including Country Managers for Thailand and Senior VP's for the region.

I am pretty sure there will be Regulatory guys there too who should know the exact situation as its them who apply for the licensing.

I will ask further questions

Of course there are unlicensed drugs for sale in Thailand as well both generic and trademarked.

eg I am pretty sure Viagra was on sale before Thai FDA approval and Cialis was then there are the Kamagra's, Penagra's etc

It may be other stuff is for sale imported or produced locally and is not licensed

Edited April 10, 2006 by Prakanong2005

[talatnat]

Okay, I spent some time with a pharmacist and my list of "suspect" drugs, checking the MIMS, and they are all licensed for sale in Thailand.

On the other hand, all of the drugs don't have U.S. FDA approval yet -- understandable considering the long lead times for approval there. I'm slightly uneasy, however, that these drugs seemed to have been licensed only in their home countries (say Japan or Korea or Italy) and Thailand, but not elsewhere, or so it seems when you Google, i.e., you'd only see Japanese (or Italian, etc.) and Thai websites. So, maybe Thailand is fairly fast-track re: drug licensing. But, then, I'm probably wrong on this, too, so it would be good to get some followup after your Singapore trip. G'luck.