by PharmacyChecker.com | Feb 2, 2011 | Drug Importation
A new SmartMoney.com article entitled Ten Things the FDA Won’t Tell You reaffirms what we’ve reported in the past – when it comes to drug importation for personal use, the FDA generally does not intervene. “Feel free to buy drugs across the border,” the article’s subhead reads. And the FDA confirms, “The agency focuses enforcement only on imports that are intended for resale.”
However, purchasing imported or domestically sold drugs through online pharmacies requires consumer caution, as fraudulent rogue online pharmacies abound. Importantly, the SmartMoney article also references a study conducted by Roger Bate of the American Enterprise Institute and published in the Public Library of Science, which confirmed that drugs sold on the internet that had been properly verified by either the PharmacyChecker.com Verification Program or the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy’s VIPPS Program sell genuine medication and require a prescription. (more…)
Tagged with: Congressman Ron Paul, FDA, NABP, Online Pharmacy Verification Services, personal drug importation, Public Library of Science One, Senator Chuck Grassley, SmartMoney, Verification Program, VIPPS
by Gabriel Levitt, President, PharmacyChecker.com and Prescription Justice | Jan 19, 2011 | Drug Prices
We recently reported that Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IW) voiced his vehement support for legalizing drug importation to lower brand name drug prices, in an attempt to bring greater fairness to the market. We’re now pleased to report the first bill of the year calling for the reform of our nation’s current laws that seem to protect the pharmaceutical industry to the detriment of the American consumer.
On January 5th, 2011, Congressman Ron Paul (R-TX) introduced the Prescription Drug Affordability Act, which would amend the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act. We applaud the bill’s intent because it seeks to do away with unfair trade laws and policies applied to drug pricing by allowing Americans to purchase lower cost prescription drugs safely from other countries without the threat of prosecution. Congressman Paul has introduced similarly named bills in prior years that have not become law. As the need for affordable medication is now greater than ever, H.R. 147 should stand a better chance at becoming law. (more…)
Tagged with: Congrassman Ron Paul, Drug Prices, drug re-importation, FDCA, Online Pharmacies, Prescription Drug Affordability Act, prescription drugs, re-importation, Secretary of Health and Human Services, Senator Chuck Grassley
by Tod Cooperman, MD, President, PharmacyChecker.com, and Gabriel Levitt, Vice President, PharmacyChecker.com | Jan 7, 2011 | Drug Prices, Personal Drug Importation
With drug importation champion Senator Byron Dorgan’s departure from the Senate, advocates for lower drug prices were concerned that no one would step up to the plate. Raising the issue from the dead, in an interview yesterday with IowaPolitics.com, Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA), who supported the Dorgan bill, has boldly picked up the torch unambiguously voicing his continuing support of the legislation to allow lower priced drug imports.
Senator Grassley’s frames the issue as follows:
“Giving American consumers access to imported prescription drugs would force pharmaceutical companies to re-evaluate this unfair pricing strategy and drive U.S. prices down. It’s a free-trade issue. American consumers are able to buy almost every other product available from other countries. The same should be true for prescription drugs.” (more…)
Tagged with: Dorgan, Drug Importation, generic drugs, Heath Care Act, IowaPolitics.com, lower prices, Patient Protection and Affordable Health Care Act of 2009, personal drug importation, pharmaceutical companies, Pharmaceutical Market Access and Drug Safety Act, prescriptions, Senator Chuck Grassley, Senator Herb Kohl, United States
