WASHINGTON (By Billy House, Arizona
Republic) June 30, 2005 - Senate Republican leaders, led by Arizona's Jon
Kyl, say it's still too dangerous to allow importation of lower-cost
medicines from Canada and other countries, and insist their continued
opposition is not to protect large drug companies.
"Until these safety concerns are alleviated, importation cannot be a viable option," according to a report by the Senate Republican Policy Committee.
And in almost a defensive tone, the report notes, "Opposition to drug importation is not, as some importation proponents suggest, a case of lawmakers protecting large pharmaceutical companies."
The policy committee report, "The Meaning of 'Canada' and Other Perils of Canadian Drug Importation," may be the clearest signal yet that Senate Republican leaders are prepared to once again help the Bush administration block bills supporting drug importation. Kyl is chairman of the policy committee, which advances the views of the GOP Senate majority
The report issued Tuesday comes as a growing number of rank-and-file Republicans in Congress, including Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., have joined Democrats in calling for legal imports of lower-cost drugs as alternatives to higher-priced ones that U.S. consumers buy.
McCain and others have complained about what they describe as "the powerful special interests" opposing such legislation, as reflected by millions of dollars spent by pharmaceutical companies lobbying Congress.
This past April, the Center for Public Integrity, a Washington-based government watchdog, issued a report saying that since 1998, the pharmaceutical and health-products industry had spent $759 million lobbying members of Congress. In addition, critics have accused the industry of having undue influence over the Food and Drug Administration, the agency that regulates pharmaceutical interests.
Recent polls indicate that nearly two-thirds of Americans believe the government should make it easier to import cheaper drugs. Federal officials estimate that about 10 million prescriptions were shipped from Canada into the United States in 2004.
In a related development Wednesday, Canada's health minister, Ujjal Dosanjh, announced that his government will launch legislative and regulatory changes to try to control drug exports to ensure a "stable and sufficient" drug supply for Canadians. Dosanjh said he is concerned that the United States will pass a law allowing importation of Canadian drugs and that such a move will jeopardize the supply of affordable drugs for his countrymen.
Among changes the Canadian government is considering is requiring a direct patient-doctor relationship, a move that could undermine Internet sales.
Importing drugs into the United States is illegal, but the law does permit the U.S. secretary of Health and Human Services, through the FDA, to approve some importation of drugs. So far, though, no health secretary has agreed to vouch for foreign drugs' safety.
Since 1999, proposals have been introduced in Congress to supersede the law. The leading bipartisan bill now before the Senate suggests a "Canada-only" approach, which accepts that drugs obtained from Canadian sellers are safe for U.S. consumption. The proposal also would give the health secretary discretion to authorize importation from additional countries whose safety standards are found to be equivalent to those in Canada and the United States. Mexico is not specifically mentioned.
The measure is sponsored by Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-S.D., and has 30 co-sponsors, including McCain. But Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., last year blocked Senate action on that measure.
Kyl's committee report this week indicates that Republican Senate leaders are prepared to take similar action in this new session of Congress.
The report argues that many of the drugs that Americans purchase from "Canadian" Web sites are not actually Canadian at all and are not subject to Canadian safety regulations.
It also warns of "a new class" of substandard drugs known as "similares," which are not generic drugs or even counterfeits.
Rather, the report describes the "copycat" medicines as being manufactured in some Latin American, African and Asian countries, where the lack of regulatory control means the potency and quality can "vary wildly."
"Even if lower drug prices can be achieved in the short term by importation, no amount of savings is worth the high price of compromised safety, and importation schemes will amount to nothing more than a quick fix," according to the report.
The report emphasizes that other drug options are available, such as increased use of generics, enrollment in prescription drug-card programs offered by drug manufacturers and the new Medicare prescription drug benefit.
Dorgan spokesman Barry Piatt said Wednesday that the senator's office had not read the policy committee report but that the policy committee's stands "are nothing new." However, he said they fly in the face of the opposing views of "a rising number of rank-and-file Republicans in both the House and the Senate" who support importation bills.
Phil Sheegl, owner of three "Prescription Drugs Canada" stores in Scottsdale, Mesa and Sun City, said that although Canada would lose thousands of jobs by such a move, he and other discount drug providers simply would obtain drugs for U.S. customers from other countries, such as England, Australia and New Zealand.
Sheegl's company reviews patients' prescriptions and sends them to Canada, where he says they are reviewed by physicians and filled in 90-day supplies by pharmacists. The drugs are shipped directly to patients' homes.
He said Arizonans represent about 40 percent of his business, which processes about 1,500 prescriptions a week, mostly from Internet customers.
"Until these safety concerns are alleviated, importation cannot be a viable option," according to a report by the Senate Republican Policy Committee.
And in almost a defensive tone, the report notes, "Opposition to drug importation is not, as some importation proponents suggest, a case of lawmakers protecting large pharmaceutical companies."
The policy committee report, "The Meaning of 'Canada' and Other Perils of Canadian Drug Importation," may be the clearest signal yet that Senate Republican leaders are prepared to once again help the Bush administration block bills supporting drug importation. Kyl is chairman of the policy committee, which advances the views of the GOP Senate majority
The report issued Tuesday comes as a growing number of rank-and-file Republicans in Congress, including Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., have joined Democrats in calling for legal imports of lower-cost drugs as alternatives to higher-priced ones that U.S. consumers buy.
McCain and others have complained about what they describe as "the powerful special interests" opposing such legislation, as reflected by millions of dollars spent by pharmaceutical companies lobbying Congress.
This past April, the Center for Public Integrity, a Washington-based government watchdog, issued a report saying that since 1998, the pharmaceutical and health-products industry had spent $759 million lobbying members of Congress. In addition, critics have accused the industry of having undue influence over the Food and Drug Administration, the agency that regulates pharmaceutical interests.
Recent polls indicate that nearly two-thirds of Americans believe the government should make it easier to import cheaper drugs. Federal officials estimate that about 10 million prescriptions were shipped from Canada into the United States in 2004.
In a related development Wednesday, Canada's health minister, Ujjal Dosanjh, announced that his government will launch legislative and regulatory changes to try to control drug exports to ensure a "stable and sufficient" drug supply for Canadians. Dosanjh said he is concerned that the United States will pass a law allowing importation of Canadian drugs and that such a move will jeopardize the supply of affordable drugs for his countrymen.
Among changes the Canadian government is considering is requiring a direct patient-doctor relationship, a move that could undermine Internet sales.
Importing drugs into the United States is illegal, but the law does permit the U.S. secretary of Health and Human Services, through the FDA, to approve some importation of drugs. So far, though, no health secretary has agreed to vouch for foreign drugs' safety.
Since 1999, proposals have been introduced in Congress to supersede the law. The leading bipartisan bill now before the Senate suggests a "Canada-only" approach, which accepts that drugs obtained from Canadian sellers are safe for U.S. consumption. The proposal also would give the health secretary discretion to authorize importation from additional countries whose safety standards are found to be equivalent to those in Canada and the United States. Mexico is not specifically mentioned.
The measure is sponsored by Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-S.D., and has 30 co-sponsors, including McCain. But Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., last year blocked Senate action on that measure.
Kyl's committee report this week indicates that Republican Senate leaders are prepared to take similar action in this new session of Congress.
The report argues that many of the drugs that Americans purchase from "Canadian" Web sites are not actually Canadian at all and are not subject to Canadian safety regulations.
It also warns of "a new class" of substandard drugs known as "similares," which are not generic drugs or even counterfeits.
Rather, the report describes the "copycat" medicines as being manufactured in some Latin American, African and Asian countries, where the lack of regulatory control means the potency and quality can "vary wildly."
"Even if lower drug prices can be achieved in the short term by importation, no amount of savings is worth the high price of compromised safety, and importation schemes will amount to nothing more than a quick fix," according to the report.
The report emphasizes that other drug options are available, such as increased use of generics, enrollment in prescription drug-card programs offered by drug manufacturers and the new Medicare prescription drug benefit.
Dorgan spokesman Barry Piatt said Wednesday that the senator's office had not read the policy committee report but that the policy committee's stands "are nothing new." However, he said they fly in the face of the opposing views of "a rising number of rank-and-file Republicans in both the House and the Senate" who support importation bills.
Phil Sheegl, owner of three "Prescription Drugs Canada" stores in Scottsdale, Mesa and Sun City, said that although Canada would lose thousands of jobs by such a move, he and other discount drug providers simply would obtain drugs for U.S. customers from other countries, such as England, Australia and New Zealand.
Sheegl's company reviews patients' prescriptions and sends them to Canada, where he says they are reviewed by physicians and filled in 90-day supplies by pharmacists. The drugs are shipped directly to patients' homes.
He said Arizonans represent about 40 percent of his business, which processes about 1,500 prescriptions a week, mostly from Internet customers.
