by Gabriel Levitt, President, PharmacyChecker.com and Prescription Justice | Jul 2, 2014 | Advocacy, Personal Drug Importation, Politics
As we approach July 4th, a day to celebrate freedom in America, I urge you to stand up for your freedom to access safe and affordable medication!! Let’s face it: the global drug companies – big Pharma – would rather you pay higher prices for their medications because it makes them more money. In its infinite pandering to big Pharma, Congress included language in the Food and Drug Administration Safety and Innovation Act of 2012 (FDASIA) – an otherwise pretty useful drug safety bill – expanding the authority of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to destroy safe, personally imported medications. In the spirit of independence – life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness – take this time to send a message to the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) asking that she take the necessary actions to protect your prescription drug orders, ones ordered from safe international online pharmacies.
Thanks to RxRights.org for leading the charge on this effort!
The onerous language under discussion is found in Section 708 of FDASIA, which allows the FDA to destroy medication orders valued at $2500 or less that are refused import. The medications subject to refusal and destruction are those deemed “adulterated, misbranded or counterfeit.” Those words seem pretty scary but don’t be fooled. Unlike an adulterated or counterfeit drug, an imported ‘misbranded’ drug can be the same, safe and effective medication sold in a U.S. pharmacy but with a slightly different label. Seizing and destroying a person’s safe prescription drug order is immoral, anti-American, and dangerous to that person’s health.
There’s a catch in the law, which actually invokes the Spirit of 1776. Before Section 708 goes into effect, the HHS Secretary shall draft proposed regulations to provide consumers with due process to “challenge the decision to destroy the drug.” That means Americans should have an opportunity when their medication orders are seized to tell the government “don’t destroy my safe prescription drug order.” As the agency under HHS tasked with regulating the nation’s drug supply, it’s the FDA that leads the government in this process. FDA’s proposed regulations, which are open for public comment, were drafted and published in early May. While they fail to provide what the law requires – “appropriate due process” – I believe they leave the door open to amend what they have proposed. This weekend I’ll be working to submit PharmacyChecker.com’s public comments to try and assist (persuade?) the FDA to issue a more consumer-friendly final regulation that protects your access to safe and affordable imported medication.
I invoke the spirits of our Founding Fathers to guide us in this fight for independence from the tyranny of high drug prices.
Happy Fourth of July!
Tagged with: Due Process, Regulations, RxRights, Section 708
by Gabriel Levitt, President, PharmacyChecker.com and Prescription Justice | Jun 25, 2014 | Drug Prices, Drug Safety, Generic drugs
Toprol XL, a prescription drug that treats high blood pressure and is shown to lower the risk of heart attacks, is in the news due to recalls of some generic versions and because some doctors are finding the generics doesn’t always work as well as the brand. Consumers taking a generic version (metoprolol succinate extended-release), might want to switch back to the brand, but that could raise their drug bills substantially
The issue has also re-ignited the topic of problems with Indian drug quality. Wockhardt and Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories, both based in India, have pulled 100,000 bottles of their respective metoprolol succinate extended-release products because their pills were not dissolving properly. For extended release drugs, this can be a big problem with a drug’s efficacy.
So where can you buy an American made version of this drug? I believe that would be very hard to do. Brand name Toprol XL sold on U.S. pharmacy shelves is a product of Swedish company AstraZeneca and, according to the drug’s labeling, made in India. There are American companies that make metoprolol succinate as well, such as Mylan, but they manufacture the drug in India, too. Some Toprol XL generics were made in America, but that didn’t work out so well due to manufacturing problems here at home.
Dollars and Sense – You can save 70% on the brand!
In the U.S., generic metoprolol succinate costs about 45 cents a pill. If you want brand name Toprol XL (100mg), the cost is about $2 apill. However, if you only want the brand name product and want to spend a lot less, it can be purchased from a verified international online pharmacy for as little as 60 cents a pill, just a bit more than the cost of a generic in the U.S., and a 70% savings on the U.S. brand price.
Compare Toprol XL drug prices on all strengths on PharmacyChecker.com.
Tagged with: AstraZeneca, Dr. Reddy's Labratories, Toprol XL, Wockhardt
by Gabriel Levitt, President, PharmacyChecker.com and Prescription Justice | May 9, 2014 | Advocacy, Drug Importation
I penned an op-ed for the Bangor Daily News’ weekend edition called “Maine’s Drug Importation Law Does not Endorse Online Pharmacies. Should it?” Maine passed a good law last year, lifting the state’s ban on personal prescription drug imports from pharmacies in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. U.S. pharmacists and drug companies want Mainers to believe lifting the ban is not safe even though it is. But is it safe to order medications online from India and even island nations? It can be. In my piece, I examine the issues, which are not black and white and therefore merit an open and honest discussion. It also clarifies the differences between dangerous rogue pharmacy sites that are bad for consumers and safe international ones that help Americans afford prescribed medication.
For those interested in knowing more about this issue please read the International Online Pharmacy Report.
Tagged with: Bangor Daily News, Maine
