icollect
November 7th, 2003, 03:20 PM
Still Think This Is Funny??
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/200311 (http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20031107/wl_canada_nm/canada_health_imports_col_1) 07/wl_canada_nm/canada_health_imports_col_1
<DIV class=storyline>US Doubts Illinois' Estimated Drug Import Savings</DIV>
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By Lisa Richwine
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Illinois' proposal to import cheaper prescription drugs from Canada will fail to achieve the cost savings the state envisions and will put patients' health at risk, U.S. regulators said on Friday.
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A state report estimated potential savings of up to $90 million annually under a drug import program. But the Food and Drug Administration (news (http://us.rd.yahoo.com/DailyNews/manual/*http://search.news.yahoo.com/search/news?p=%22Food%20and%0ADrug%20Administration%22&c= &n=20&yn=c&c=news&cs=nw) - web sites (http://us.rd.yahoo.com/DailyNews/manual/*http://search.yahoo.com/search?p=%22Food+and+Drug+Administration%22&h=c)), which has warned that buying medicines abroad is risky, calculated the savings would be $29 million at most.
The savings likely would be even less once pharmacist and shipping costs, and potentially higher liability insurance premiums, are factored in, said William Hubbard, the FDA's associate commissioner for policy and planning.
"Your proposal for 'buyer beware' drugs simply doesn't achieve the key goals of affordability and safety," Hubbard wrote in a letter to Illinois officials.
Officials in the governor's office could not immediately be reached for comment.
The letter follows a major FDA victory on Thursday when a judge ordered the shut down of Rx Depot, a chain of storefronts that helps Americans purchase medicines from Canada. The judge ruled the business was illegal and the quality of the drugs may be unreliable.
FDA officials hope the ruling will discourage others from pursuing import plans. "We hope they will all get the message now that the law is clear," Hubbard said in an interview.
Only drug manufacturers are allowed to import medicines into the United States. The FDA has not pursued individual patients who have sought cheaper medicines abroad, but it has tried to discourage the practice.
The FDA said Illinois' report gave false assurances that drugs from Canada would be safe. Drugs bought outside the United States, particularly over the Internet, may not meet U.S. standards for quality, safety and purity, the FDA said.
"Your report wrongly assumes regulatory oversight by Canadian health authorities of drugs exported to our citizens, when those authorities have not been willing or able to guarantee the safety of drugs sold to Americans," the letter said.
<FONT face=Ari
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/200311 (http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20031107/wl_canada_nm/canada_health_imports_col_1) 07/wl_canada_nm/canada_health_imports_col_1
<DIV class=storyline>US Doubts Illinois' Estimated Drug Import Savings</DIV>
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=2 width=420>
<T>
<TR vAlign=center>
<TD width="40%">
<DIV class=recenttimedate>2 hours, 1 minute ago</DIV></TD>
<TD noWrap align=right width="60%"></TD></TR></T></TABLE>
By Lisa Richwine
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Illinois' proposal to import cheaper prescription drugs from Canada will fail to achieve the cost savings the state envisions and will put patients' health at risk, U.S. regulators said on Friday.
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="1%" align=left>
<T>
<TR vAlign=top>
<TD width="99%"></TD>
<TD width=5></TD></TR></T></TABLE>
A state report estimated potential savings of up to $90 million annually under a drug import program. But the Food and Drug Administration (news (http://us.rd.yahoo.com/DailyNews/manual/*http://search.news.yahoo.com/search/news?p=%22Food%20and%0ADrug%20Administration%22&c= &n=20&yn=c&c=news&cs=nw) - web sites (http://us.rd.yahoo.com/DailyNews/manual/*http://search.yahoo.com/search?p=%22Food+and+Drug+Administration%22&h=c)), which has warned that buying medicines abroad is risky, calculated the savings would be $29 million at most.
The savings likely would be even less once pharmacist and shipping costs, and potentially higher liability insurance premiums, are factored in, said William Hubbard, the FDA's associate commissioner for policy and planning.
"Your proposal for 'buyer beware' drugs simply doesn't achieve the key goals of affordability and safety," Hubbard wrote in a letter to Illinois officials.
Officials in the governor's office could not immediately be reached for comment.
The letter follows a major FDA victory on Thursday when a judge ordered the shut down of Rx Depot, a chain of storefronts that helps Americans purchase medicines from Canada. The judge ruled the business was illegal and the quality of the drugs may be unreliable.
FDA officials hope the ruling will discourage others from pursuing import plans. "We hope they will all get the message now that the law is clear," Hubbard said in an interview.
Only drug manufacturers are allowed to import medicines into the United States. The FDA has not pursued individual patients who have sought cheaper medicines abroad, but it has tried to discourage the practice.
The FDA said Illinois' report gave false assurances that drugs from Canada would be safe. Drugs bought outside the United States, particularly over the Internet, may not meet U.S. standards for quality, safety and purity, the FDA said.
"Your report wrongly assumes regulatory oversight by Canadian health authorities of drugs exported to our citizens, when those authorities have not been willing or able to guarantee the safety of drugs sold to Americans," the letter said.
<FONT face=Ari