As reported in DigitalJournal this past Wednesday, at a press conference in Keene, NH, Congressman Ron Paul (TX-14), Republican candidate for president, accused the pharmaceutical industry and the FDA of being in “bed together.” He derided their arrangement, characterized by a revolving door of people repeatedly switching jobs back and forth between the FDA and pharmaceutical industry, as collusion to reduce competition in the pharmaceutical marketplace, resulting in higher drug prices. When it comes to online pharmacies, personal drug importation and drug prices, Congressman Paul’s critique resonates all too loudly.
The pharmaceutical industry, through their main trade association Pharmaceutical Researchers and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) has lobbied vigorously to keep safe personal drug importation illegal, and to scare Americans away through its media relations juggernaut and funding of the Partnership for Safe Medicine from buying safe and affordable medication online from Canada and other countries. PhRMA even commissioned the publication of a novel about a terrorist conspiracy – The Karasik Conspiracy – in which terrorists attack Americans with bad drugs sold from Canada! This effort backfired and they pulled the plug on the publishing company, which then went ahead and published a different version of The Karasik Conspiracy novel in which a pharmaceutical giant poisons medications to protect its profits. (more…)
A new study published by the National Bureau of Economic Research finds that pharmacies approved in the PharmacyChecker.com Verification Program sell safe medication and can help Americans achieve substantial savings. By filling 370 prescriptions through 41 online pharmacies and testing the authenticity of the medications received, independent researchers from the American Enterprise Institute in Washington, D.C. found no test failures among online pharmacies verified by third-party verifiers, such as PharmacyChecker.com.
Since all online pharmacies approved by PharmacyChecker.com – whether American or foreign – are licensed, require a prescription, and meet high standards of online pharmacy safety, the results of this study are not the least bit surprising. Past studies have shown the exact same results. Still, the FDA ignores the facts and continues a consumer education policy recommending that Americans completely avoid non-US online pharmacies. We believe the FDA’s policy is unethical and unfair. More importantly, its policy is bad for the public health because less access to affordable prescription drugs means fewer Americans will procure needed medications.
There is a drug affordability crisis in America. As we’ve reported, in 2010 48 million adults did not fill a prescription due to high drug costs. Perhaps surprisingly, in addition to millions of uninsured Americans, many Americans with insurance forgo prescription medication due to cost. Such insured Americans, unable to cover necessary medical costs, including medication, are often referred to as the underinsured. A previous study from 2004 by the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists reveals that 82.1% of those who restricted medication to due costs were actually insured. The picture is clear; underinsurance is a major issue in the battle to afford prescribed medication.
The Affordable Healthcare For America Act will help millions of Americans, including with their drug bills – but it is not a cure-all. It is uncertain how the new regulations will affect drug pricing. With drug price negotiations and cost reducing drug importation measures excluded from the healthcare act, and with millions of insured Americans currently struggling to pay high drug costs, what is to say newly insured people will not struggle to afford or go without prescribed medications?
Throughout the year PharmacyCheckerBlog will be following the research and predictions about drug affordability under the new law. Stay tuned…
Today, the AARP reported that brand name drug prices increased by 41% between 2006-2009, approximately three times the rate of inflation. In the New York Times article announcing the study, AARP refers to the price increases as “relentless”. The media often reports on studies about drug price increases because it’s an issue of great frustration for millions of Americans; and this blog has presented the facts on how tens of millions of Americans skip medication due to cost. But what are the public health ramifications of high drug costs? (more…)
According to the FDA, a counterfeit version of Avastin 400mg/16mL, a cancer treatment injectable medication, is being distributed in the United States, and “may have been purchased and used by some medical practices in the United States.” The fake drug “is labeled as Avastin, manufactured by Roche”, but it does not contain the medicine’s active ingredient, and is ineffective according to Roche. The counterfeit Avastin has “batch numbers that start with B6010, B6011 or B86017” and part of its label is written in French.
While it isn’t clear of how large the counterfeit supply is, the FDA has sent notice letters to 19 medical practices across the United States who may have administered the counterfeit drug to its patients, which could lead to adverse health effects. This counterfeit incident is different than one we reported on in 2010, when the FDA warned consumers about Generic Tamiful sold by an online pharmacy. In this case the Internet does not appear to play a role, rather the counterfeit drugs seem to have directly infiltrated the U.S. drug supply.
Price comparisons for Avastin are not available on PharmacyChecker.com, as its price listing participants do not offer this product for sale. Avastin is most often administered by a healthcare professional in a clinical setting not by the patient.
The reporting and disposal recommendations to healthcare professionals and patients by the FDA is as follows:
Medical practices that have obtained products from Volunteer Distribution and Quality Specialty Products should stop using them and contact the FDA. These products should be retained and securely stored. To report suspect counterfeit products and other suspect products obtained from Volunteer Distribution or QSP/Montana Health Care Solutions:
· Call FDA’s Office of Criminal Investigations (OCI) at 800-551-3989,
Healthcare professionals and patients are encouraged to report adverse events related to the use of suspect injectable cancer medications to the FDA’s MedWatch Safety Information and Adverse Event Reporting Program:
· Download form or call 1-800-332-1088 to request a reporting form, then complete and return to the address on the pre-addressed form, or submit by fax to 1-800-FDA-0178
During a recent campaign appearance in front of a Tea Party crowd, as reported by ABC News, Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum told a mother and her sick son that high drug costs are fair because they are determined by free market forces. It appears that Mr. Santorum doesn’t understand the crisis of prescription drug prices and that the market is failing to price prescription drugs within reach for 10s of millions of Americans.
According to ABC News, “Santorum told a large Tea Party crowd here that he sympathized with the boy’s case, but he also believed in the marketplace,” and that companies wouldn’t be making the life-saving drugs if they didn’t believe they would turn a profit doing so. The former senator from Pennsylvania seemed to be lecturing the American people when he said: “People have no problem paying $900 for an iPad…but paying $900 for a drug they have a problem with — it keeps you alive. Why? Because you’ve been conditioned to think health care is something you can get without having to pay for it.” (more…)
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A source for news and analysis about drug prices and safety, online pharmacies and personal drug importation, published on behalf of American consumers.
