Thursday, March 10, 2005
FDA seizure raises questions about reliability of imported drug delivery
[Maura Kelly Lannan, "FDA seizes prescription orders from I-SaveRX," Associated Press, The Lawrence Journal-World, 10 March 2005.]
While replacement prescriptions were quickly shipped to consumers this time, the recent seizure of medicine making a trip across the border does raise important questions for consumers and for the politicians who backed this plan:
The Food and Drug Administration has seized prescription drug orders sent from abroad to more than 50 customers of I-SaveRx, a multistate program to import cheaper prescription drugs from Europe and Canada.
The drugs, which were stopped at airports, included cholesterol lowering Lipitor and bone-strengthening Fosamax. Customers learned of the seizure through letters from the FDA, which said the drugs did not have the proper labeling or were not federally approved.
FDA Associate Commissioner William Hubbard denied that the agency, which opposes drug imports, stopped the shipments in an effort to shut down I-SaveRx. He said the agency has always seized high-risk drugs that can easily be counterfeit, such as Lipitor.
Gov. Rod Blagojevich launched I-SaveRx last year to help participants save money on prescription drugs. It uses a Canada-based clearinghouse, CanaRx, to connect residents of Illinois, Kansas, Missouri and Wisconsin to pharmacies and wholesalers in Canada, Ireland and the United Kingdom. The FDA opposes the importation, saying it can't ensure the safety of the drugs.
[Matthew Hisrich, "Sebelius Is Practicing Black-Market Politics," The Wichita Eagle, 10 December 2004.]
[Maura Kelly Lannan, "FDA seizes prescription orders from I-SaveRX," Associated Press, The Lawrence Journal-World, 10 March 2005.]
While replacement prescriptions were quickly shipped to consumers this time, the recent seizure of medicine making a trip across the border does raise important questions for consumers and for the politicians who backed this plan:
The Food and Drug Administration has seized prescription drug orders sent from abroad to more than 50 customers of I-SaveRx, a multistate program to import cheaper prescription drugs from Europe and Canada.
The drugs, which were stopped at airports, included cholesterol lowering Lipitor and bone-strengthening Fosamax. Customers learned of the seizure through letters from the FDA, which said the drugs did not have the proper labeling or were not federally approved.
FDA Associate Commissioner William Hubbard denied that the agency, which opposes drug imports, stopped the shipments in an effort to shut down I-SaveRx. He said the agency has always seized high-risk drugs that can easily be counterfeit, such as Lipitor.
Gov. Rod Blagojevich launched I-SaveRx last year to help participants save money on prescription drugs. It uses a Canada-based clearinghouse, CanaRx, to connect residents of Illinois, Kansas, Missouri and Wisconsin to pharmacies and wholesalers in Canada, Ireland and the United Kingdom. The FDA opposes the importation, saying it can't ensure the safety of the drugs.
[Matthew Hisrich, "Sebelius Is Practicing Black-Market Politics," The Wichita Eagle, 10 December 2004.]
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