New Senate move to allow importation draws condemnation of retail pharmacy

ALEXANDRIA, Va. A proposal in Congress to allow Americans to personally import prescription drugs is drawing strong opposition from the National Association of Chain Drug Stores.

NACDS and many of its member companies have condemned the plan, contained in a bill moving through the Senate. The legislation, known as the Pharmaceutical Market Access and Drug Safety Act of 2009, or S. 1232, would permit the personal and commercial importation of prescription drugs from Canada and other nations outside the purview of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. It also mandates what NACDS terms as “costly, unproven track-and-trace requirements on the pharmacy community, and “treats legitimate brick and mortar pharmacies the same as illegitimate Internet drug sellers,” the group asserts.

To air the pharmacy industry’s concerns, NACDS president and CEO Steven Anderson today sent a letter to Senate majority leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and minority leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. “NACDS shares the goal of reducing the cost of prescription drugs,” Anderson wrote. “However, we do not believe that consumer safety can be ensured in any system that allows for the personal importation of prescription medications.

“In addition to numerous concerns about the safety and effectiveness of imported drugs, individuals who obtain prescription medications through a personal importation scheme are less likely to benefit from the professional services and advice of their local licensed pharmacists,” added NACDS’ top executive.

NACDS members and pharmacy advocates also sent more than 1,000 letters to Capitol Hill in the last week through the association’s grassroots program, RxIMPACT, according to the group. The letters express opposition to personal drug importation so as not to compromise patient safety in an effort to lower prescription drug prices.