Senate blocks bid to allow drug imports

[frigidmagi]

Yahoo

WASHINGTON - In a triumph for the pharmaceutical industry, the Senate on Monday killed a drive to allow consumers to buy prescription drugs from abroad at a significant savings over domestic prices.

On a 49-40 vote, the Senate required the administration to certify the safety and effectiveness of imported drugs before they can be imported, a requirement that officials have said they cannot meet.

"Well, once again the big drug companies have proved that they are the most powerful and best financed lobby in Washington," said Sen. David Vitter (news, bio, voting record), a Louisiana Republican.

The vote neutralized a second amendment, later passed on a voice vote, that would legalize the importation of prescription drugs manufactured in Canada, Australia, Europe, Japan and New Zealand.

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., called the certification amendment, introduced by Sen. Thad Cochran (news, bio, voting record), R-Miss., a "poison pill" for the drug-imports legislation. Sen. Byron Dorgan (news, bio, voting record), D-N.D., acknowledged it nullified his bid to allow the purchase of drugs abroad.

"This is a setback for us. But the drug industry is one of the strongest industries in this town," Dorgan said.

Sen. Mike Enzi, a Wyoming Republican, said the requirement for a safety certification was essential to protect the public.

"Under both Democratic and Republican administrations, secretaries of Health and Human Services have declined to certify that foreign drugs — like those allowed under the Dorgan Foreign Drug Act — are safe for American consumers. They realized, as I do, that close enough isn't good enough," Enzi said.

The maneuvering occurred on broader legislation to renew the FDA's ability to collect fees from the drug industry to defray the cost of reviewing new drugs. Lawmakers have seized on the bill to overhaul the agency, including its handling of drug-safety issues highlighted in the wake of the withdrawal of the painkiller
Vioxx.

Advocates of drug importation have argued for years that an existing ban is more a protection for the drug industry than a safety issue.

Overseas, drugs can cost two-thirds less than they do in the United States, where prices for brand-name drugs are among the highest in the world. In many industrialized countries, prices are lower because they are either controlled or partially controlled by government regulation.

Dorgan said allowing imports would drive down the price of U.S. brand-name drugs. He said 90 doses of the cholesterol drug
Lipitor costs $321 in the U.S. — about twice the cost in Canada.

The idea of allowing prescription drug imports enjoys broad popular support. However, lower prices overseas would not automatically translate into large savings for domestic consumers, according to a 2004 study by the
Congressional Budget Office.

The study found that allowing drug imports from a broad set of countries would cut U.S. drug spending by $40 billion over 10 years, about a 1 percent savings. It said foreign governments could limit drug exports to protect their own domestic supplies, and that U.S. drug companies could respond to an importation bill by increasing prices abroad.

The pharmaceutical industry vehemently opposes allowing drug imports, arguing that they could leave the nation vulnerable to dangerous counterfeits.

Similar drug-import legislation is pending in the House.

I toyed with making my own headline of "Senate tells poor sick to fuck off." but decided against it. Part of the reason I'm posting this is the current debate in the thread "On the Cost of Pills..." Another part is showing my reasons for why I seem permentally engaged in a hate/hate relationship with our current political leaders on sides of the fence. While I don't pray for their deaths or anything, I would gloat and cheer if the FBI found reason to arrest them all tomorrow.

[Comrade Tortoise]

Jesus fucking christ THE PILLS ARE THE SAME FUCKING DRUGS!!!

[The Cleric]

Jesus fucking christ THE PILLS ARE THE SAME FUCKING DRUGS!!!

Sometimes. And sometimes not. While importing pills from major, reputable companies would be awesome, where's the regulation for ALL of them? I was JUST today looking at a anabolic book one of the other trainers at my gym bought, and it had a whole chapter on how to spot imatation products. After reading that, and looking at the real thing, I STILL had touble picking out the real product vs. the fake one.

[SirNitram]

Jesus fucking christ THE PILLS ARE THE SAME FUCKING DRUGS!!!

Sometimes. And sometimes not. While importing pills from major, reputable companies would be awesome, where's the regulation for ALL of them? I was JUST today looking at a anabolic book one of the other trainers at my gym bought, and it had a whole chapter on how to spot imatation products. After reading that, and looking at the real thing, I STILL had touble picking out the real product vs. the fake one.

I await evidence to back up your assertion that the pills are chemically different in any quantifiable way, and that Canada's own food and drug standards are sufficiently low for it to be an issue.

Until that moment, this is the empty rhetoric of an apologist.

[The Cleric]

Jesus fucking christ THE PILLS ARE THE SAME FUCKING DRUGS!!!

Sometimes. And sometimes not. While importing pills from major, reputable companies would be awesome, where's the regulation for ALL of them? I was JUST today looking at a anabolic book one of the other trainers at my gym bought, and it had a whole chapter on how to spot imatation products. After reading that, and looking at the real thing, I STILL had touble picking out the real product vs. the fake one.

I await evidence to back up your assertion that the pills are chemically different in any quantifiable way, and that Canada's own food and drug standards are sufficiently low for it to be an issue.

Until that moment, this is the empty rhetoric of an apologist.

Christ are you that fucking naieve? Sure, Canada and most European companies will be manufacturing quality products. But what about some of the smaller Asian countries? South America? Mexico? Africa, god forbid? Where's the quality control there? Where do you have the testing to ensure that each pill is what it says it is? It's pretty freaking easy to say, cut the dosage in half and fill the rest with something generic or just placebo to cut manufacturing costs. It happens in the US with supplements, as the FDA doesn't/can't regulate them. Do you honestly think that just because a company SAYS what it's manufacturing is a product, that those pills ACTUALLY contain said product, without stringent testing and regulation? Or are you just going to bury your head in the sand and go "LALALAL I CAN'T HEAR YOU BRING UP VALID POINTS LALALA!!" some more?

[The Cleric]

And for the record, I would like to personally punch the execs and CEO's of pharmacutical companies for making obscene profits off of the American public. However, I will not blind myself to the fact that the FDA is the only thing keeping those companies in line, and that other countries aren't magical places where other big companies produce high quality products without any type of enforcement of quality control and testing.

[Cynical Cat]

The vote neutralized a second amendment, later passed on a voice vote, that would legalize the importation of prescription drugs manufactured in Canada, Australia, Europe, Japan and New Zealand.

That's where the drugs are going to be imported from Cleric.

[The Cleric]

The vote neutralized a second amendment, later passed on a voice vote, that would legalize the importation of prescription drugs manufactured in Canada, Australia, Europe, Japan and New Zealand.

That's where the drugs are going to be imported from Cleric.

What are their manufacturing standards? What kind of percentage deviation are they allowed to produce pharmacuticals at?

[Cynical Cat]

They're the same brand name drugs. Read the fucking article. A lot of Canadian drugs, for example, are manufactured in the states and then sold in Canada. To repeat Nitram, if you have evidence that Canada or New Zealand has crappy drug product control, I would like to see it. As for the FDA, it's lack of power over food is fairly laughable. It doesn't even have the authority to yank bad meat of the market. If its drug quality controls are superior to Canada's, I would by very surprised. We're talking about importing from First World countries for Christ's sake.

[The Cleric]

Brand name doesn't mean shit. Slapping a lable on something does not make it so. You can put an Oakleys logo on a pair of sunglasses, but I guarantee you that the lenses won't stop a 12gague from close range like the real thing will.

And the FDA has different standards for foods/drugs. The drug standards are actually quite high with specific tolerance limits.

[frigidmagi]

Okay, fine, do you have any idea what's Canada's are? Or New Zealand's? Japan's? All nations with healthcare about even to ours I should mention. Seriously Cleric, if you know something they don't make with the evidence.

[The Cleric]

Newp. And neither do you. Everyone just assumes it's the same. Yeah, I know, burden of proof and all that jazz. I'm way to lazy to look that up. I just devils advocate all this "ZOMG THIS IS SOOOO WRONG" bullshit based on nothing but assumptions.


And Cynical Cat, what are you doing posting somewhere besides FanFic .

[Cynical Cat]

Apologist bullshit and comparing my countries standards to that of Africa piss me off. That's what I'm doing posting in News and Politics.


http://www.annals.org/cgi/content/full/143/6/397?ck=nck

Its about the cost of importing Canadian pharmaceuticals. Flip down to the Discussion section at the end and they address the quality issue:

A contentious issue regarding the re-importation of medications is concern about the safety of purchasing medications through the Internet. Most of these concerns center on the storing and handling of medications. If a medication is manufactured outside of the United States, it has been claimed that there might not be appropriate standards in place to ensure proper storage and handling conditions (22). However, many U.S. pharmaceutical companies outsource their production to other countries, and these drugs also need to be shipped and handled over long distances on their way back to the United States. In addition, Canada has one of the most rigorous drug approval systems in the world, and most of the drugs that are approved in Canada are also approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration

Health Canada Paper on the advantages of closer international cooperation in terms of drug testing, that indicates a certain degree of cooperation already exists:

http://policyresearch.gc.ca/page.asp?pagenm=v7n1_art_04

The FDA has already demonstrated a willingness to work with Canada (HC, 2003). Canadian regulators are highly regarded for their professional expertise and commitment. In addition, some joint drug reviews have already been carried out as demonstration projects. Collaboration makes sense, because it can be based on mutual respect for technical expertise. Moreover, our regulatory system effectively constitutes a trade barrier to innovative drug firms, the majority of which are now located in the United States.3 Collaboration would help to remove this barrier by shortening drug review times and would, therefore, be advantageous to the United States.

[SirNitram]

Wow-ie. An apologist for corporations fucking the little guy showing up with NO EVIDENCE WHATSOEVER when demanded he bring some. I wish I could say this surprised me in any way shape or form, but sadly, Cleric is dancing a tune that was pre-recorded years ago and is dutifully recited as it's handed down.

Since you have no evidence to back up your claims, your concession is accepted.

[Comrade Tortoise]

Brand name doesn't mean shit. Slapping a lable on something does not make it so. You can put an Oakleys logo on a pair of sunglasses, but I guarantee you that the lenses won't stop a 12gague from close range like the real thing will.

And the FDA has different standards for foods/drugs. The drug standards are actually quite high with specific tolerance limits.

They are reputable companies, in first world, post-industrialized nations. All you need to is take a look at the records of those countries regulatory agencies when they authorized the marketing of those medications. We can take it on good faith pretty easily that their quality controls are as good as ours. You cant really compare them with supplements. Why? because in Canada, or the UK, or Australia, they ARE fucking regulated.

[Comrade Tortoise]

Jesus fucking christ THE PILLS ARE THE SAME FUCKING DRUGS!!!

Sometimes. And sometimes not. While importing pills from major, reputable companies would be awesome, where's the regulation for ALL of them? I was JUST today looking at a anabolic book one of the other trainers at my gym bought, and it had a whole chapter on how to spot imatation products. After reading that, and looking at the real thing, I STILL had touble picking out the real product vs. the fake one.

And this applies to drugs imported from reputable companies in canada...how exactly?

[frigidmagi]

If only there was a place, a magical place where I could check the results of Senate votes and find who voted for what... Oh wait there is.

When you got nothing else, resort to public shaming. here

Vote Counts: YEAs 49
NAYs 40
Not Voting 11
Vote Summary By Senator Name By Vote Position By Home State

Alphabetical by Senator Name
Akaka (D-HI), Nay
Alexander (R-TN), Yea
Allard (R-CO), Not Voting
Baucus (D-MT), Yea
Bayh (D-IN), Yea
Bennett (R-UT), Yea
Biden (D-DE), Not Voting
Bingaman (D-NM), Nay
Bond (R-MO), Yea
Boxer (D-CA), Nay
Brown (D-OH), Nay
Brownback (R-KS), Not Voting
Bunning (R-KY), Yea
Burr (R-NC), Yea
Byrd (D-WV), Nay
Cantwell (D-WA), Yea
Cardin (D-MD), Nay
Carper (D-DE), Yea
Casey (D-PA), Nay
Chambliss (R-GA), Yea
Clinton (D-NY), Nay
Coburn (R-OK), Yea
Cochran (R-MS), Yea
Coleman (R-MN), Yea
Collins (R-ME), Nay
Conrad (D-ND), Nay
Corker (R-TN), Yea
Cornyn (R-TX), Yea
Craig (R-ID), Nay
Crapo (R-ID), Yea
DeMint (R-SC), Nay
Dodd (D-CT), Not Voting
Dole (R-NC), Yea
Domenici (R-NM), Yea
Dorgan (D-ND), Nay
Durbin (D-IL), Nay
Ensign (R-NV), Not Voting
Enzi (R-WY), Yea
Feingold (D-WI), Nay
Feinstein (D-CA), Nay
Graham (R-SC), Yea
Grassley (R-IA), Nay
Gregg (R-NH), Yea
Hagel (R-NE), Yea
Harkin (D-IA), Nay
Hatch (R-UT), Yea
Hutchison (R-TX), Yea
Inhofe (R-OK), Not Voting
Inouye (D-HI), Nay
Isakson (R-GA), Yea
Johnson (D-SD), Not Voting
Kennedy (D-MA), Yea
Kerry (D-MA), Yea
Klobuchar (D-MN), Nay
Kohl (D-WI), Nay
Kyl (R-AZ), Yea
Landrieu (D-LA), Yea
Lautenberg (D-NJ), Yea
Leahy (D-VT), Nay
Levin (D-MI), Nay
Lieberman (ID-CT), Yea
Lincoln (D-AR), Yea
Lott (R-MS), Nay
Lugar (R-IN), Yea
Martinez (R-FL), Yea
McCain (R-AZ), Not Voting
McCaskill (D-MO), Nay
McConnell (R-KY), Yea
Menendez (D-NJ), Yea
Mikulski (D-MD), Yea
Murkowski (R-AK), Yea
Murray (D-WA), Yea
Nelson (D-FL), Nay
Nelson (D-NE), Yea
Obama (D-IL), Not Voting
Pryor (D-AR), Nay
Reed (D-RI), Not Voting
Reid (D-NV), Nay
Roberts (R-KS), Yea
Rockefeller (D-WV), Yea
Salazar (D-CO), Yea
Sanders (I-VT), Nay
Schumer (D-NY), Nay
Sessions (R-AL), Nay
Shelby (R-AL), Nay
Smith (R-OR), Nay
Snowe (R-ME), Nay
Specter (R-PA), Yea
Stabenow (D-MI), Nay
Stevens (R-AK), Yea
Sununu (R-NH), Yea
Tester (D-MT), Not Voting
Thomas (R-WY), Yea
Thune (R-SD), Nay
Vitter (R-LA), Nay
Voinovich (R-OH), Yea
Warner (R-VA), Yea
Webb (D-VA), Nay
Whitehouse (D-RI), Nay
Wyden (D-OR), Nay
Vote Summary By Senator Name By Vote Position By Home State

Grouped By Vote Position
YEAs ---49
Alexander (R-TN)
Baucus (D-MT)
Bayh (D-IN)
Bennett (R-UT)
Bond (R-MO)
Bunning (R-KY)
Burr (R-NC)
Cantwell (D-WA)
Carper (D-DE)
Chambliss (R-GA)
Coburn (R-OK)
Cochran (R-MS)
Coleman (R-MN)
Corker (R-TN)
Cornyn (R-TX)
Crapo (R-ID)
Dole (R-NC)
Domenici (R-NM)
Enzi (R-WY)
Graham (R-SC)
Gregg (R-NH)
Hagel (R-NE)
Hatch (R-UT)
Hutchison (R-TX)
Isakson (R-GA)
Kennedy (D-MA)
Kerry (D-MA)
Kyl (R-AZ)
Landrieu (D-LA)
Lautenberg (D-NJ)
Lieberman (ID-CT)
Lincoln (D-AR)
Lugar (R-IN)
Martinez (R-FL)
McConnell (R-KY)
Menendez (D-NJ)
Mikulski (D-MD)
Murkowski (R-AK)
Murray (D-WA)
Nelson (D-NE)
Roberts (R-KS)
Rockefeller (D-WV)
Salazar (D-CO)
Specter (R-PA)
Stevens (R-AK)
Sununu (R-NH)
Thomas (R-WY)
Voinovich (R-OH)
Warner (R-VA)
NAYs ---40
Akaka (D-HI)
Bingaman (D-NM)
Boxer (D-CA)
Brown (D-OH)
Byrd (D-WV)
Cardin (D-MD)
Casey (D-PA)
Clinton (D-NY)
Collins (R-ME)
Conrad (D-ND)
Craig (R-ID)
DeMint (R-SC)
Dorgan (D-ND)
Durbin (D-IL)
Feingold (D-WI)
Feinstein (D-CA)
Grassley (R-IA)
Harkin (D-IA)
Inouye (D-HI)
Klobuchar (D-MN)
Kohl (D-WI)
Leahy (D-VT)
Levin (D-MI)
Lott (R-MS)
McCaskill (D-MO)
Nelson (D-FL)
Pryor (D-AR)
Reid (D-NV)
Sanders (I-VT)
Schumer (D-NY)
Sessions (R-AL)
Shelby (R-AL)
Smith (R-OR)
Snowe (R-ME)
Stabenow (D-MI)
Thune (R-SD)
Vitter (R-LA)
Webb (D-VA)
Whitehouse (D-RI)
Wyden (D-OR)
Not Voting - 11
Allard (R-CO)
Biden (D-DE)
Brownback (R-KS)
Dodd (D-CT)
Ensign (R-NV)
Inhofe (R-OK)
Johnson (D-SD)
McCain (R-AZ)
Obama (D-IL)
Reed (D-RI)
Tester (D-MT)
Vote Summary By Senator Name By Vote Position By Home State

Grouped by Home State
Alabama: Sessions (R-AL), Nay Shelby (R-AL), Nay
Alaska: Murkowski (R-AK), Yea Stevens (R-AK), Yea
Arizona: Kyl (R-AZ), Yea McCain (R-AZ), Not Voting
Arkansas: Lincoln (D-AR), Yea Pryor (D-AR), Nay
California: Boxer (D-CA), Nay Feinstein (D-CA), Nay
Colorado: Allard (R-CO), Not Voting Salazar (D-CO), Yea
Connecticut: Dodd (D-CT), Not Voting Lieberman (ID-CT), Yea
Delaware: Biden (D-DE), Not Voting Carper (D-DE), Yea
Florida: Martinez (R-FL), Yea Nelson (D-FL), Nay
Georgia: Chambliss (R-GA), Yea Isakson (R-GA), Yea
Hawaii: Akaka (D-HI), Nay Inouye (D-HI), Nay
Idaho: Craig (R-ID), Nay Crapo (R-ID), Yea
Illinois: Durbin (D-IL), Nay Obama (D-IL), Not Voting
Indiana: Bayh (D-IN), Yea Lugar (R-IN), Yea
Iowa: Grassley (R-IA), Nay Harkin (D-IA), Nay
Kansas: Brownback (R-KS), Not Voting Roberts (R-KS), Yea
Kentucky: Bunning (R-KY), Yea McConnell (R-KY), Yea
Louisiana: Landrieu (D-LA), Yea Vitter (R-LA), Nay
Maine: Collins (R-ME), Nay Snowe (R-ME), Nay
Maryland: Cardin (D-MD), Nay Mikulski (D-MD), Yea
Massachusetts: Kennedy (D-MA), Yea Kerry (D-MA), Yea
Michigan: Levin (D-MI), Nay Stabenow (D-MI), Nay
Minnesota: Coleman (R-MN), Yea Klobuchar (D-MN), Nay
Mississippi: Cochran (R-MS), Yea Lott (R-MS), Nay
Missouri: Bond (R-MO), Yea McCaskill (D-MO), Nay
Montana: Baucus (D-MT), Yea Tester (D-MT), Not Voting
Nebraska: Hagel (R-NE), Yea Nelson (D-NE), Yea
Nevada: Ensign (R-NV), Not Voting Reid (D-NV), Nay
New Hampshire: Gregg (R-NH), Yea Sununu (R-NH), Yea
New Jersey: Lautenberg (D-NJ), Yea Menendez (D-NJ), Yea
New Mexico: Bingaman (D-NM), Nay Domenici (R-NM), Yea
New York: Clinton (D-NY), Nay Schumer (D-NY), Nay
North Carolina: Burr (R-NC), Yea Dole (R-NC), Yea
North Dakota: Conrad (D-ND), Nay Dorgan (D-ND), Nay
Ohio: Brown (D-OH), Nay Voinovich (R-OH), Yea
Oklahoma: Coburn (R-OK), Yea Inhofe (R-OK), Not Voting
Oregon: Smith (R-OR), Nay Wyden (D-OR), Nay
Pennsylvania: Casey (D-PA), Nay Specter (R-PA), Yea
Rhode Island: Reed (D-RI), Not Voting Whitehouse (D-RI), Nay
South Carolina: DeMint (R-SC), Nay Graham (R-SC), Yea
South Dakota: Johnson (D-SD), Not Voting Thune (R-SD), Nay
Tennessee: Alexander (R-TN), Yea Corker (R-TN), Yea
Texas: Cornyn (R-TX), Yea Hutchison (R-TX), Yea
Utah: Bennett (R-UT), Yea Hatch (R-UT), Yea
Vermont: Leahy (D-VT), Nay Sanders (I-VT), Nay
Virginia: Warner (R-VA), Yea Webb (D-VA), Nay
Washington: Cantwell (D-WA), Yea Murray (D-WA), Yea
West Virginia: Byrd (D-WV), Nay Rockefeller (D-WV), Yea
Wisconsin: Feingold (D-WI), Nay Kohl (D-WI), Nay
Wyoming: Enzi (R-WY), Yea Thomas (R-WY), Yea