Pharmaceutical Industry discussion, review, analysis, news and information.

Hugely favoring the pharmaceutical industry, the U.S. Senate killed the drive that would have allowed consumers to buy prescription drugs from abroad that is a lot cheaper than domestic prices.

Prices of branded prescription drugs in the United States are among the highest in the world. Usually, the cost overseas is only 2/3 of the price in the U.S.

The US Senate voted 49-40, requiring the administration to certify the safety and effectiveness of imported drugs before they can be imported. This requirement is something that the officials said they cannot meet.

Advocates of drug importation believed for years that an existing ban is more a protection for the drug industry than a safety issue.

According to Sen. David Vitter (R., La.):

"Well, once again the big drug companies have proved that they are the most powerful and best-financed lobby in Washington.”

"This is a setback for us. But the drug industry is one of the strongest industries in this town."

"Under both Democratic and Republican administrations, secretaries of Health and Human Services have declined to certify that foreign drugs - like those allowed under the Dorgan Foreign Drug Act - are safe for American consumers. They realized, as I do, that close enough isn't good enough."

Of course, if drug importation will be allowed, prices of drugs in the U.S. will be forced to come down…otherwise people will just import the products, thereby debilitating the domestic industry. But it would be good for the consuming public because they will have cheaper choices.

As a Chemist, cheaper drugs to me do not always equal to best quality. Besides, if I live in the U.S. and would import drugs, say from Europe or Canada, doesn’t the shipping that I will incur just normalize the amount I would have saved if I bought it locally?

On the other hand, I also cannot deny the fact that since the pharmaceutical industry is a big industry that contributes a lot to a nation’s economy, it might really be true that the US. Senate is biased in their decision to ban drug importation that will give a limp to this big industry.

Either way, they have a huge point. However, if government officials together with the FDA, can commit to the certification of the safety and efficacy of foreign drugs, isn’t there money involved to do this? Say the U.S. government is willing to shoulder the expenses, how are they going to get it back? – I guess by putting on a price against the drug products certified. So you get the picture, how could these foreign drug products be sold in the U.S. at a cheaper price, when it has to undergo government certification processes?

So I guess the Senate made a good decision by killing the drug importation drive.

However, in my honest opinion, the U.S. government should work more towards subsidizing prescription drug products especially to those patients who cannot afford them, or maybe requiring these pharmaceutical companies to create a program that will allow qualified patients to avail of the prescription drugs for free or at a subsidized price.

[Photo Credit: WHDH-TV – Channel 7 – Boston]