ABSTRACT
This chapter challenges the myth of pharmaceuticals constituting a Sun Rise industry of great potential for the future of the nation. This notion has come to assign a privileged status to such production, which in turn has contributed to regulatory agencies treating manufacturers as life-savers and nation builders, and de facto above the law. The chapter highlights an important category of hidden costs borne by society at large, which provides the pharmaceuticals industry with competitive advantages in international markets. It also explains a pattern of systemic regulatory failure resulting in the bad manufacturing practice of pharmaceuticals and bulk drugs manufacturers dumping untreated toxic and hazardous effluents into the environment, with a focus on Patancheru, Bollaram, Gaddapotharam and Kazipally villages in the Medak district, located in the Telangana region of Andhra Pradesh. Treating manufacturers in this sector as privileged actors nullifies independent monitoring by regulatory institutions, permits violation of environmental standards and exaggerates the benefits of pharmaceuticals for economic development.
