President of the International AntiCounterfeiting Coalition Warns That Importation Will Open the Door to Drug Counterfeiters

In the midst of a nationwide epidemic of opioid addiction fueled by illicit smuggling of drugs from overseas, and coming on the heels of a year in which U.S. Customs and Border Protection seized over $73 million worth of counterfeit medicines at our nation’s ports, some members of Congress have suggested a novel approach to these growing threats: “opening the floodgates.”

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Op-Ed: Why Drug Importation Is Flawed Policy

Mike Leavitt | March 20, 2017 With the issue of prescription drug importation being debated on Capitol Hill again, mark me in the skeptical camp. As a matter of safety and practical policymaking, drug importation simply doesn’t work. It is not by happenstance that our country has the world’s safest drug supply. Counterfeit medicines are proliferating…

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No Such Thing as a “Safe Country” for Drug Importation

With talks about drug importation continuing in Congress, drug importation supporters argue that if the United States allows importation only from “safe countries,” such as Canada and the United Kingdom, than most of drug safety concerns would be eliminated. However, when it comes to drug importation, there is no such thing as a “safe” country.

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Inside the World of Counterfeit Drugs

Part 3: Implications for the U.S. and the Drug Importation Debate – As the debate surrounding the possible ban on the repackaging of medicines in Europe simmers to a boil, here in the United States the potentially dangerous practice of ordering prescription medicines via the Internet is mushrooming. Enticed by the promise of cheaper drugs and convenience by buying online, patients are largely unaware of the risks that come with online pharmacies. These risks can range from receiving products with too much, too little or no active ingredients, to being exposed to counterfeit products, which in some rare cases have been found to contain rat poison, boric acid and even inkjet cartridges!

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Congress on the Right Road to Stop Drug Counterfeiters

Earlier this year, Reps. John D. Dingell (D-MI 15), Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ 06) and Bart Stupak (D-MI 01) introduced the Food and Drug Administration Globalization Act of 2009 (H.R.759). This legislation indicates that Congress is fbeginning an important journey to address several real threats that substandard and counterfeit drugs pose to the pharmaceutical supply chain.

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Letter to President Barack Obama

April 8, 2009 President Barack Obama1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NWWashington, DC 20500 Dear Mr. President, On behalf of the Partnership for Safe Medicines (PSM), a group of organizations and individuals that have policies, procedures, or programs to protect consumers from counterfeit or contraband medicines and dedicated to the safety of the drug supply, I would like…

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Shepherd MD.* Impact of Drug Importation on Community Pharmacy and Patient Care. J Am Pharm Assoc. 2007 May-Jun ;47:319-20, 323-4, 327

Abstract. With the political powers shifting in both congressional houses, many pharmaceutical issues have resurfaced in the 110th Congress. One of these is legalization of drug importation. Many Democrats and Republicans have already stated that this is a high-priority item. In the first 60 days of the First Session, two bills were introduced that would…

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