Utah pharmacist and state senator: Importation raises “serious concerns about drug safety”

April 27, 2019

In this piece, which was published in The Deseret News on April 24, 2019, pharmacist and Utah State Senate Majority Leader Evan Vickers raises serious concerns about importation as a strategy to lower drug prices:

“Anyone who truly understands how drugs are sold and distributed in the U.S. knows that there are very solid technical reasons that such importation is not viable. There are also serious concerns about drug safety, since the CHS cannot guarantee origin and purity on foreign-sourced drugs.”

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The Bottom Line? “Importation will make it difficult to ensure that Floridians are receiving real and safe medicine.”

April 26, 2019

In this piece, which was published on the ABC affiliate WJLA’s website on April 25, 2019, political analyst Boris Epshteyn explains that “this is a risky plan that will make it difficult to ensure that Floridians are receiving real and safe medicine.”

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Politifact ignores the world of criminal counterfeiters

April 25, 2019

Politifact.com emailed us this week with questions about a recent ad about the dangers of attempting to import medicine from Canada. They labeled it negatively, but we noticed that they ignored certain facts while coming to their conclusion. In the interest of fairness, we’ve published below both the email from Politifact and our heavily sourced response. Judge for yourself if legislators in Florida are being naive about the risks of importation in a world with a highly evolved criminal counterfeit scheme.

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Arizona Couple Indicted for Selling Counterfeit Pills Made with Fentanyl, Pills Implicated in Death of Arkansas Man

April 24, 2019

Jacob Medina and his pregnant girlfriend, Diane Erika Marin, have been arrested in connection with a counterfeit pill distribution ring that is allegedly responsible for killing an Arkansas man, the KATV reports.

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Oncology Practice Managers: This “drug importation proposal that could put Floridians at risk”

April 22, 2019

In this editorial, which was published in the Palm Beach Post on April 22, 2019, Michelle Flowers writes about Florida’s history of black market cancer treatments and the danger importation poses to patients. Flowers is president of the Oncology Managers of Florida.

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Senators Cassidy, Hassan, Kustoff and Kuster Reintroduce Pill Press Legislation, The STEER Act

April 22, 2019

The proposed legislation, H.R. 6554, will require that anyone who owns, purchases or imports pill press must be registered them with the U.S. Attorney General.

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New PSM ads highlight concerns of FDA Commissioner Gottlieb about the dangers of Florida’s importation legislation

April 19, 2019

Tallahassee, FL (April 18, 2019) – Today the Partnership for Safe Medicines released new ads to run in several parts of Florida that highlight the dangers of Florida attempting to import medicine from Canada. Five different commissioners of the US Food and Drug Administration, appointed by both Republicans and Democrats, have stated that such proposals are dangerous to patients, will expose them to counterfeits, and are unlikely to reduce the price of medicine.

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Head of Patient Advocacy Organization Warns That Drug Importation Is Not The Solution American Patients Need

April 18, 2019

In this editorial by Terry Wilcox published in Inside Sources on April 18, 2019, Terry Wilcox, executive director of a patient advocacy organization advices federal and state representatives that allowing drug importation is not the right policy solution for America’s high prescription drug prices…

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Canadian law enforcement: Smugglers will exploit importation to traffic counterfeit medicine

April 17, 2019

In this editorial, which was published in Colorado Politics on April 17, 2019, Don Bell, a 30-year veteran of Canadian law enforcement and border protection, warns that Canadian drug importation will open the U.S. to counterfeit medicine and exacerbate drug shortages in Canada.

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WHO: Counterfeit medicines kill up to 300,000 children each year

April 15, 2019

Counterfeit medicines kill up to 300,000 children each year   In a shocking new report published in the American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, researchers have documented the true toll of counterfeit medicines around the world due to medicine being subtherapeutic or outright ineffective. Subtherapeutic medicine allows patients to die without sufficient treatment, but…

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