September 28, 2020

In a move that can only be considered a total disaster for the safety and security of America’s drug supply, the Trump Administration on Friday approved a final rule from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to allow the importation of drugs from Canada.

Despite Administration claims, this plan will not lower drug prices but instead dangerously opens the door for unsafe, counterfeit drugs to flood onto the U.S. market, as numerous health experts and non-partisan organizations have warned. Here are the facts consumers should know:

• The door is now wide open for unsafe, counterfeit drugs to enter the U.S. market, creating a real and present danger to consumers who may soon be taking entirely ineffective or harmful drugs under the belief they are receiving the care they need.
• Those who think medicines from Canada are backed by that nation’s health standards ignore the reality that Canada itself sources nearly 85 percent of its medications from less industrialized foreign nations, a market where it is estimated that 1 in 10 medicines are counterfeit.
• As Canada does not have sufficient supply of medications for its own citizens, it is obvious there is no available surplus storehouse of cheap Canadian drugs that will help lower prices in America. This is why Canada itself opposes U.S. importation, because they know it will fail to impact prices.
• Allowing states to import foreign drugs under FDA approval has repeatedly been shown to be a false hope for lowering drug prices, even if sourced from a reliable foreign manufacturer. Routing this supply through Canada for inspection, packaging and shipping would add costs to U.S. consumers, not lower them.
• Health organizations and experts have been in near unanimous agreement for years that importation opens up unnecessary dangers to America’s drug supply, undermines IP protections of patented U.S. drugs, and provides no benefits to consumers. As the Partnership for Safe Medicines explains, “At best, allowing states to import prescription drugs from Canada does not lower the cost of medicines for anyone. At worst, it puts the lives of Americans at risk.”

 

Importation will not lower prices, and it will not help consumers. Instead, the Trump Administration should focus more on its recent efforts to lower drug prices through price transparency, regulatory reform, and eliminating the influence and market dominance of pharmacy benefits managers (PBMs) who serve as middlemen between manufacturers and providers. When focused on these consumer-oriented market reforms, the administration has a record of accomplishment in greatly decreasing the upward trajectory of drug prices, which increased a scant 1.1 percent in 2019, far below recent averages.

Ignoring established wisdom and precedence on the folly of drug importation will only hurt consumers, make our drug supply less safe, and lower the quality of every American’s healthcare. It hasn’t worked in the past, it won’t work now, and it must be abandoned.