Transcript Imported drugs from Canada

Canadian Importation
Jeff Anderson
The issue
• With the ever-increasing prices in prescription
drugs in the U.S. the people have looked for
alternatives to the problem.
• One avenue open to the American public is
importing drugs from other countries.
• Brand-name drugs tend to cost 40 to 80 percent
less in Canada than in the U.S.
• Has led to more and more people looking toward
Canada as an alternative to the ever increasingly
expensive pharmaceuticals.
Legality
• Whether this practice will be allowed to continue is
a reoccurring issue being passed around Congress.
• As various Bush-appointed taskforces study the
issue, and special-interest groups lobby to make all
aspects of this practice formally illegal, the future
of this method of competition is under debate.
Legally imported drugs
• Manufactured in foreign FDA-approved or inspected
facilities
• Made in the U.S., sent abroad, then imported back
into the U.S. by the manufacturer under proper
controls and in compliance with the FD&C Act
The system needs change
That should tell you something’s wrong with the system
when the drugs are sold at other countries for far less
than people could purchase them in the U.S., and for
the American public to get their hands on those same
drugs made in the U.S. at more reasonable prices, the
drugs have to be shipped out of the country, then
shipped back in.
Risks
• There are risks to importation
• Some say safety should not be sacrificed for
affordability.
• The significantly increasing volume of imported
drugs makes it difficult to quantify, monitor,
control, and ensure complete safety, and also
where as some foreign facilities manufacture U.S.
approved versions, they may also make unapproved
versions and sell them on the U.S. market.
Risks (cont.)
• There are particular products of concern, including
controlled substances, drugs that must be
refrigerated or frozen, drugs that have specific
post-marketing risk management programs, drugs
that are highly susceptible to counterfeiting on the
global market.
• Imported drugs are not always therapeutically
equivalent to FDA-approved drugs available in the
U.S.
• Drugs can be either sub-potent where you don’t
achieve desired results due to low dosage, or
super-potent, there might be too much of the active
drug in each tablet.
Risks (cont.)
• Product testing at the border alone does not
necessarily ensure that imported drugs were
manufactured, handled, or stored in such a way as
to maintain their quality, safety, and efficiency.
• Drugs from countries with less developed
regulatory systems may pose greater risks.
• Purchasing prescription drugs over the internet
without a prescription has been found to be
relatively easy to accomplish, where you simply fill
out a form to which a ‘doctor’ reviews and approves
your prescription. In those cases, the lack of an
adequate health professional/patient relationship is
of particular interest.
Risks (cont.)
• People who purchase drugs from other countries
over the Internet might not know for certain that
the vendor is indeed a licensed pharmacy.
• These reasons among others and of course the
campaign contributions they receive, have the Bush
task forces proclaiming “no!” whenever asked if
any form of importation should be allowed to the
American public.
• Some of the same reasons can even be cited about
drugs made within U.S. borders, especially with
new, replacement ‘equivalent’ or experimental
drugs. With any product you purchase the rule
holds true: Buyer beware.
Where as they do have good points, Its common
knowledge that health goes hand in hand with money;
those with money can afford the medical help and
medications they need, however, a large portion of
the population, especially those on fixed incomes, or
without quality insurance which reimburses most of
the cost, can ill afford these ever increasing prices of
medications needed. Nobody likes to choose between
a needed medication for health or quality of life, and
buying the normal amount of food a person needs
that month.
I-SaveRx
• Importation program developed by Rod Blagojevich
• Available to Illinois, Wisconsin, Kansas, and
Missouri residents
• Prescription refilling program that allows
consumers to purchase safe and affordable
prescription refills from licensed, inspected
pharmacies in Canada and the United Kingdom.
Medications are purchased from retailers or
wholesalers in Canada, Ireland or the United
Kingdom.
Features
• Used for refilling prescriptions as turnaround is
near 20 days
• Works with licensed vendors.
• Operates under a stringent system of quality
controls and multiple safety checks.
• Inspected and approved by state regulatory
agencies.
• Follows the same standards and procedures used
by Illinois pharmacies.
Excluded
• Most generic drugs cost less in the U.S.
• Medications requiring refrigeration are excluded
since they may spoil during transit.
• Narcotics and controlled substances are excluded
because of safety concerns as well as laws and
regulations.
• Medications, such as antibiotics for an infection,
are excluded because of the time required to
purchase them abroad.
• Program not suitable for everyone as all payments
are out-of-pocked and not reimbursed by insurance
companies.
Conclusion
Since all U.S. bound manufacturers seem to all be in
collusion with each other and the insurance
companies, some method of competition could be an
alternative to purchasing these ever more expensive
U.S. prescription drugs. There are merits and risks to
importation, and this is not by any means a perfect
end all solution; but in this ‘price-fixed’ market where
companies can overcharge any amount they wish in
their piece of this multi-hundred Billion dollar industry,
steps need to be taken to alleviate the problem.