Most independent testing laboratories accept samples from consumers,
however the problem lies in the cost probitiveness of these services.
You will likely be looking in the range of a couple hundred dollars,
per sample, to have a simple assay run to ascertain that the intended
drug is not only present, but in a therapeutic quantity, within each
tablet. If you were hoping to have a complete assay run, telling you
not only if the stated drug is present, but also what the excipients
are, you will be looking at over a thousand dollars per tablet.
One lab that does pharmaceutical testing is Intertek:
http://www.intertek-cb.com/newsitetest/contact/contact.shtml
I would suggest sending them a quick contact to see what their pricing
is. Lab testing is very comeptitive, so I'm sure that whatever quote
they give you will be "in the ballpark" of what other labs might
charge.
The real problem you face, however, is that while you might be able to
confirm that this batch of drugs is fine, you have no guarantee on
future shipments from overseas. In otherwords, you would have to have
every shipment tested in order to guarantee that you are receiving the
right product, in addition to the fact that you have no legal recourse
should you be shipped a bogus drug.
If the reason you are buying overseas is cost, might I make a couple
suggestions. The first is that generic medications are cheaper in the
United States than anyplace else in the world. If you are finding
generics cheaper overseas, it is likely a counterfeit or adulterated
product. If you have financial hardship and must buy drugs that are
not available as a generic, contact the manufacturer of the drug
directly. All major pharmaceutical manufacturers have programs that
allow patients with financial hardship to get drugs free or with
minimal cost to the consumer. If you need more information, I will be
glad to provide it. |
