What they’re saying: Safety is top concern for recent drug importation proposal
Importing drugs, whether from Canada or elsewhere in the world, poses a huge safety risk and a broad range of stakeholders have expressed their concern about the plan.
Importing drugs, whether from Canada or elsewhere in the world, poses a huge safety risk and a broad range of stakeholders have expressed their concern about the plan.
Last week, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released their “Safe Importation Action Plan,” which would allow importation of certain prescription drugs from Canada and other countries. Importing drugs, whether from Canada or elsewhere in the world, poses a huge safety risk and a broad range of stakeholders have expressed their concern about the plan. Drug importation schemes increase the potential for counterfeit or adulterated products to infiltrate the U.S. pharmaceutical supply chain, putting Americans in harm’s way. As PhRMA President and CEO Stephen J. Ubl explained, “There is no way to guarantee the safety of drugs that come into the country from outside the United States’ gold-standard supply chain. Drugs coming through Canada could have originated from anywhere in the world and may not have undergone stringent review by the FDA.”
Here’s a look at what other stakeholders have said about the proposal:
In Canada, there have also been concerns raised with many pointing out how the proposal is unworkable. As Joelle Walker, with the Canadian Pharmacists Association explained to The Washington Post, “This is going to exacerbate some of the drug shortages that we’re already seeing in Canada … . We aren’t equipped to deal with a country that is ten times our size.” And even before the Administration formally announced its proposal, the Canadian Medical Association and 14 other organizations sent a letter to Canada’s Minister of Health, “request[ing] that Health Canada provide clarity and assurances to Canadians that U.S. legislation will not inadvertently disrupt Canada’s pharmaceutical supply and negatively impact patient care through greater drug shortages.”
The FDA is the gold standard for regulating the safety of the U.S. medicine supply. Importation of drugs from other countries outside of the FDA’s regulated, closed supply chain could taint our medicines and have life-threatening consequences for American patients.
Learn more about the dangers of drug importation here.