Earlier this month, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) made a reckless decision to approve Florida’s plan to import certain prescription medicines from Canada. Here are some recent articles highlighting the chorus of people and organizations concerned about the feasibility of this plan as well as the opportunity drug importation creates for unsafe drugs finding their way into the hands of patients:
- Aaron Kesselheim, professor at Harvard Medical School: “I think it's going to be hard for states to import drugs like that in any kind of scale that would make a difference in terms of lowering prices for patients.” FDA for the first time approves plan to import drugs, Axios
- Nicholas Bagley, law professor at University of Michigan: “There is a yawning gap between the public enthusiasm for Canadian drug imports and the consensus view from experts that it's a daft approach.” FDA for the first time approves plan to import drugs, Axios
- Amir Attaran, law professor at University of Ottawa: “Canada has about the same population as California, and we simply do not have the supply for a country nine times larger than ours without provoking massive drug shortages here.” Canada frets over FDA allowing Florida to import prescription drugs, The Washington Times
- Chris Meekins, an analyst at Raymond James and a former Health and Human Services official during the Trump administration: “I think this being perceived as a panacea to lower drug costs in Florida and elsewhere is wishful thinking by politicians and will not materialize in the way that they have portrayed to the public.” Florida scores drug import win – but many hurdles remain, The Hill
- Stacie Dusetzina, health-policy professor at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine: “There are real constraints on Canada’s ability to even do this, they would basically be giving up drugs that are meant for their population to subsidize drugs for people in Florida, which is not politically reasonable to be asking from people in Canada.” Florida Is First State Allowed to Import Drugs From Canada in Bid to Reduce Costs, The Wall Street Journal
- Adrian Dix, British Columbia's health minister: “This is effectively a raid on Canada's drug supply." B.C. health minister says he expects Ottawa to protect Canadians from drug shortages, CBC
- Craig Garthwaite, professor and director of healthcare at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management: The policy is “more politics and sound bites than it is actual sound drug policy.” Drug pricing experts skeptical that Florida's drug import plan will work, Endpoints News
- Mark Holland, Canada’s Minister of Health: "There is no way we will allow any jurisdiction, be it a state or another foreign jurisdiction, to endanger the Canadian drug supply. That is not an appropriate solution to whatever challenges they may be facing. We're going to do everything in our power to make sure that another country cannot be given the ability to pillage our health system for its own benefit." Federal health minister says he won't allow Florida to 'pillage' the drug supply, CBC
Learn more about our concerns with drug importation.
