by Gabriel Levitt, President, PharmacyChecker.com and Prescription Justice | Mar 29, 2018 | Politics and policy
The recently signed appropriations or “omnibus” bill to fund the federal government includes an additional $94 million (Section 778) for the FDA to screen and stop drug imports at international mail facilities (IMFs). That could mean fewer people receiving their prescription medications that they have ordered from Canadian or other international pharmacies.
As I wrote a couple of weeks ago, the FDA’s coming crackdown against opioids could be a cover for greater import refusals and destruction of imported medications. This new appropriation of $94 million is a lot of money. In the case of drug importation, that money could be used for good (intercepting opioid ingredients en route to drug dealers or addicts) or evil (refusing and destroying prescribed medication en route to a patient who can’t afford the drug here).
You can read the section of the bill showing the appropriation and what it’s for at the end of this post. It states that the money is for “necessary expenses of processing opioid and other articles imported or offered for import through international mail facilities of the U.S. Postal Service.” Those “other articles” include prescription medications from pharmacies in Canada and other countries. Since the FDA considers those imports illegal, at least under most circumstances, it can refuse them and even destroy them – but must first alert the patient who ordered them giving them due process to defend their prescription order. (more…)
Tagged with: counterfeits, drug imports, FDA, international mail facilities, omnibus, opioids, Scott Gottlieb
by Gabriel Levitt, President, PharmacyChecker.com and Prescription Justice | Mar 16, 2018 | FDA enforcement
As reported by the Associated Press, FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb announced a plan earlier this month to stop imports of opioid drugs by doubling the number of inspectors at international mail facilities. This type of targeted enforcement against opioid drug products is the stuff of real public health protection, but it can easily be misused to refuse online pharmacy orders of prescription medication imports. Millions of Americans are ordering medications from abroad because they cannot afford the exorbitant prices here in the United States. Prescription medication orders from licensed pharmacies in Canada and other countries should not be conflated with illegal importation of opioids.
(more…)
Tagged with: 708, drug imports, FDA, international mail facilities, opioids, Scott Gottlieb
by Gabriel Levitt, President, PharmacyChecker.com and Prescription Justice | Jan 18, 2018 | Drug Safety
FDA Testing Lower-Cost Imported Medications
Tens of millions of people have bought medications from foreign pharmacies – despite the technical illegality of importing those medications. According to reporting by Kaiser Health News last month, the FDA tested imported medications, apparently to see if what Americans are doing is safe. All medications the FDA tested “contain[ed] the ingredients matching the medicines ordered.”
The Kaiser Health News reporting was focused on international pharmacy options offered by local governments, schools, and other self-insured organizations. While that’s interesting, it’s not breaking news (I mentioned it here). The FDA testing imports and saying the medications are safe, albeit begrudgingly, is breaking news. (more…)
Tagged with: drug imports, FDA, public education, testing, transparency
The recently signed appropriations or “omnibus” bill to fund the federal government includes an additional $94 million (Section 778) for the FDA to screen and stop drug imports at international mail facilities (IMFs). That could mean fewer people receiving their prescription medications that they have ordered from Canadian or other international pharmacies.
