Leading Health Care, Business, Labor and Advocacy Groups Join
Together to Oppose Drug Importation as Part of the Prescription
Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA)

Importation Undermines Drug Safety Protocols, Could Lead to Influx of Dangerous Counterfeit Drugs

Washington, D.C. (May 21, 2012) – In a letter sent today to members of the U.S. Senate, the Partnership for Safe Medicines (PSM), a public health group comprised of more than 65 organizations committed to the safety of prescription drugs and protecting consumers against counterfeit, substandard or otherwise unsafe medicines, joined with leading patient, health care, business and advocacy groups in strongly opposing any amendments that would permit legal importation as part of the Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA). If allowed to move forward, importation would unnecessarily expose patients to increased risk of dangerous and potentially life-threatening counterfeit medicines making their way into the United States.

Among the organizations included in the letter: the American Pharmacists Association, the Kidney Cancer Association, the National Association of Manufacturers, the Pharmaceutical Industry Labor Management Association (PILMA) and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

“Despite the United States having the most secure drug supply chain in the world, recent incidents such as the discovery of fake Avastin prove we must remain ever vigilant,” said PSM Chairman Marvin D. Shepherd, PhD. “Contrary to claims made by importation advocates, there is no regulation for products trans-shipped through ‘safe’ countries such as Canada and the United Kingdom. Americans would be put at great risk and importation would erode the FDA’s ability to regulate prescription medicines, opening the door for more criminals to operate bogus online pharmacies that prey upon our citizens.”

  Real and Counterfeit Tamilfu Picture by the FDA via Flickr. No. Many of the counterfeit drugs in circulation today are so carefully made that even the experts cannot detect them by sight alone. They have to use special laboratory equipment to assess the chemical composition of the product in order to match it to a sample of the original.…

  266. The National Association of Boards of Pharmacy (NABP) surveys the online pharmacy market quarterly. Their last survey released in January 2012 found that only 266 appear to be potentially legitimate, and only 67 actually have been accredited through the NABP’s Verified Internet Pharmacy Practice Sites program. Correspondingly, there are 7,230 sites that do not require a prescription before dispensing…