Big Pharma vs The People: The Fight to Save America’s Largest Generic Drug Manufacturer

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This July, America’s largest remaining generic drug manufacturing plant is set to close its doors forever in Morgantown, West Virginia. Its parent company, Viatris (formerly known as Mylan), plans to relocate operations to India and Australia leaving more than 1,400 workers without jobs in the country’s sixth poorest state. Economist Michael H. Shuman estimates the closure will cost West Virginia hundreds of millions of dollars. “It’s the economic equivalent of a nuclear bomb going off,” he says. But moving affordable drug manufacturing offshore is bad for public health too. So why aren’t the state’s governor or senators, or the Biden Administration, stepping in? Could the plant, the jobs, and domestic manufacture of affordable drugs be protected? What other choices could be made if we put local economies and public health before profits for Big Pharma? Laura travels to Morgantown, WV to speak with workers, organizers, and community members calling on the Biden Administration and state officials to keep the Mylan Viatris plant open.  Music In the Middle:  “Homesick” feauturing Mish,  by the Guitars Over Guns Organization, or GOGO, from their premiere album “The Rain May Be Pouring”.  Guitars Over Guns is a nonprofit based in Miami and Chicago, serving to empower and create safe spaces for youth to express themselves through music.

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