Bad Drug

There are three reasons for a drug to be considered a bad drug: 

• Defective or Tainted: This is an extremely broad category. It may involve drugs that have been tainted (such as spoiling or changing chemically due to shipping conditions). However, in most cases, it indicates a more innocuous manufacturing flaw. For example, the label could have been misprinted to leave out a key ingredient or list the incorrect ingredient. This could lead to doctors prescribing it when they would not otherwise, particularly for patients who have an allergy or are taking a competing medication. In other cases, the defect is deliberate, such as when a cheaper ingredient is substituted.
• Dangerous Side Effects: The FDA requires manufacturers to report and disclose any side effects discovered during testing. However, this may not occur for a variety of reasons, including inadequate testing or too few sample groups. It takes years for side effects to manifest. The manufacturer purposefully concealed evidence of a side effect, altered the data, or failed to report it.
• Deceptive Marketing: Marketing that is deceptive. Pharmaceutical companies are under intense profit pressure, and they market to doctors as well as the general public. These same companies also “educate” doctors on the uses, benefits, and risks of their products. This creates a significant conflict of interest. If the marketing was deceptive, whether intentionally or unintentionally, it could give rise to a bad drug lawsuit.