To see just how drug company lobbyists snake their way into the legislative process please read this next section, which follows the executive summary.
You can view the whole report here.
The GAO inquiry into online pharmacies mandated by FDASIA in its Section 1127 was drafted by a lobbyist in the employ of a government relations firm (FaegreBD Consulting) hired by the Alliance for Safe Online Pharmacies (ASOP), a group that is led by Eli Lilly, the National Association of Chain Drugstores and LegitScript.The executive director of ASOP is Libby Baney, who now runs a consulting firm called FWD Strategies International.1 According to its website, FWD Strategies International “is not just a name; it is what we do – moving your vision forward.” In marketing her firm, Ms. Baney notes that one of its services is drafting congressional legislation. As an example of draft legislation, she notes Section 1127 of FDASIA among others relating to online pharmacy.
As evidenced above, it’s not surprising that Section 1127 did not encourage the GAO to perform serious research and independent analysis about online pharmacy safety. Instead Section 1127 conspicuously calls for GAO to report on “laws, policies, and activities that would educate consumers about how to distinguish pharmacy Internet web sites that comply with Federal and State laws and established industry standards from those pharmacy Internet websites that do not comply with such laws and standards…” That language represents the “vision” of the founders and funders of ASOP, companies and people with a history of working to curtail access by Americans to lower cost medication from safe international online pharmacies.2
1 Libby Baney is identified as a lobbyist for the Alliance for Safe Online Pharmacies in this lobbying disclosure report: http://soprweb.senate.gov/index.cfm?event=getFilingDetails&filingID=6B1B406C-D5C0-48C6-9484-B9FF3B372B1F&filingTypeID=51 [Last accessed 10/21/2014].2 Some of ASOP’s funders seek extreme actions, such as “delisting,” to achieve their goals. Eli Lilly recommends that search engines remove organic results so that Americans can no longer find online pharmacies that are not based in the U.S. See, testimony by Bruce Longbottom, JD, Eli Lilly, Statement to the House Energy and Commerce Committee, Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, February 27th, 2014, see http://docs.house.gov/meetings/IF/IF02/20140227/101804/HHRG-113-IF02-Wstate-LongbottomB-20140227.pdf [Last accessed 10/24/2014]. View the actual testimony about delisting here.
