[ The FDAs decision is "a win for consumers and for Bernie
Sanders, who first spearheaded bus trips to Canada 25 years ago,"
wrote David Sirota, a former Sanders campaign adviser.]
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FDA APPROVES MEDICINE IMPORTS FROM CANADA  
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Jake Johnson
January 6, 2024
Common Dreams
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_ The FDA's decision is "a win for consumers and for Bernie Sanders,
who first spearheaded bus trips to Canada 25 years ago," wrote David
Sirota, a former Sanders campaign adviser. _

U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) talks about the cost of insulin in
the U.S. versus Canada on July 28, 2019 in Windsor, Canada., Scott
Eisen/Getty Images

 

The pharmaceutical lobby pledged Friday to do everything in its power
to fight back after the Food and Drug Administration approved a
Florida program that will allow the state to import medications from
Canada at a steep discount relative to sky-high U.S. prices, which
force millions of Americans
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to skip doses to save money.

"PhRMA is considering all options for preventing this policy from
harming patients," Stephen Ubl, the industry trade group's CEO, said
in a statement
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condemning the FDA's decision as "reckless."

Prescription drug importation from Canada is a broadly popular
approach that has long been advocated
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by Sen. Bernie Sanders
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than two decades ago led a caravan of women
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across the U.S.-Canada border to purchase breast cancer medication.
Sanders, then a member of the House, spearheaded a legislative effort
to approve more drug imports, but Republicans packed the final bill
with loopholes
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for Big Pharma.

Sanders traveled across the Canadian border again
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in 2019 with Type 1 diabetes patients looking to buy insulin, which is
dangerously pricey
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in the U.S.

Now, following the FDA's decision
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on Friday, Republican-led Florida is on track to become the first U.S.
state to import cheaper prescription drugs from the country's northern
neighbor. The RAND Corporation has estimated
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that Canadians pay less than half of what Americans pay for brand-name
drugs.

_The New York Times_, which was first to report
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the FDA's approval, noted that Florida has estimated it "could save up
to $150 million in its first year of the program, importing medicines
that treat HIV, AIDS, diabetes, hepatitis C, and psychiatric
conditions."

"With its approval in hand, Florida has more work to do," the _Times_
added. "Before it can distribute Canadian drugs, the state must send
the FDA details on those it plans to import. The state has to ensure
that the drugs are potent and not counterfeit. It also must put
FDA-approved labels on medications instead of those used in Canada."

At least eight other states—including Maine, Vermont, and
Colorado—have implemented laws authorizing a drug importation
program and are aiming for a green light from the FDA.

"The FDA is committed to working with states and Indian tribes that
seek to develop successful section 804 importation proposals,” FDA
Commissioner Robert Califf said in a statement
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Friday. "These proposals must demonstrate the programs would result in
significant cost savings to consumers without adding risk of exposure
to unsafe or ineffective drugs."

The powerful pharmaceutical industry, which has spent billions of
dollars on lobbying
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the past decade, is sure to fight tooth and nail to prevent the
widespread adoption of importation programs—as it does with
virtually every government effort to rein in drug costs
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David Mitchell, the founder of Patients for Affordable Drugs, wrote
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Florida's program "is a reflection of the fact that U.S. prices are
too high and Americans need relief."

"But state-by-state importation from Canada isn't workable for all of
us," argued Mitchell, a cancer patient who relies on drugs that cost
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thousands of dollars a year. "We need federal solutions that lower
prices for everyone."

Jake Johnson is a senior editor and staff writer for Common Dreams.

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* Big Pharma lobbyists
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