University of Connecticut Department of Pharmacy Practice head C. Michael White wrote in the Washington Post  that “generic prescription drugs have saved the United States about $1.7 trillion in the past decade” with the FDA having approved “a record 781 new generics in 2018 alone, including generic versions of Cialis, Levitra and Lyrica.” White added, “Unfortunately for those who turn to generics to save money, the FDA relies heavily on the honor system with foreign manufacturers, and U.S. consumers get burned. Eighty percent of the active ingredients and 40 percent of the finished generic drugs used in the United States are manufactured overseas.” Furthermore, White said, “The widespread willingness of foreign manufacturers to falsify, manipulate or shred documents to sell lower-quality or unsafe drugs to U.S. citizens shows that only frequent and unannounced FDA inspections or FDA testing of batches of medications when they reach the United States will compel them to follow the rules.”

From the news release of the American Association for Justice.