Potential remedies
But in the immediate future, reimportation remains a controversial issue. Making reimportation legal may not bring long-term
benefits to the US market because of already mentioned concerns over safety. Reimportation also could reduce companies' revenue
and thereby deplete funding for new-drug research and development.
American consumers will benefit most when drug prices are controlled at a global level. The authors propose the formation
of an international body of pharmaceutical leaders to monitor the flow of pharmaceuticals across borders and to regulate prices
internationally. (FDA and other regulatory agencies do not regulate prices.) An international consortium of pharmaceutical
companies could work to find common ground with consumers on drug pricing internationally, which could reduce drug reimportation.
An active dialogue between company representatives and government representing American consumers also is necessary to keep
drug reimportation off the table. Educating consumers about the risks of bringing drugs into the country illegaly is crucial,
as is discussing alternatives to low-cost products.
Om V. Singh, PhD, is assistant professor in the Division of Biological and Health Sciences at the University of Pittsburgh in Bradford, PA,
ovs11@pitt.edu
. Thomas E. Colonna, PhD, is associate director of the Bioscience Regulatory Affairs Program in the Zanvyl Krieger School of Arts and Sciences at Johns
Hopkins University in Washington, DC, tcolonn1@jhu.edu
.
References
1. T.S. Rector and P.J. Venus, Health Aff.
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2. D.G. Safran et al., Health Aff. Supp. web exclusive (2002), pp. W253–68.
3. Public Law 108-173, Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003.
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http://www.cms.gov/PrescriptionDrugCovGenIn/01_Overview.asp, accessed Jan. 5, 2011.
5. HHS, Report on Prescription Drug Importation (December 2004), http://archive.hhs.gov/importtaskforce/Report1220.pdf, accessed Dec. 1, 2010.
6. American Progress, "Prescription Drug Reimportation: The Law and Its Problems,"
http://www.americanprogress.org/kf/bgreimp.pdf, accessed Dec. 1, 2010.
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http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h111-1298, accessed Jan. 5, 2011.
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