The surging cost of prescription drugs here in the United Stateshas become a hot-button topic recently, prompting many Americans tocross over the border and pick up cheaper medications inCanada.
Whether or not this practice is acceptable has become an issueof debate for many state lawmakers, some of whom are consideringapproving the cut-rate prescriptions for their constituents.
In the last two weeks, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg hasjoined Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich in his call to the U.S.Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to permit states and cities tolegally import prescription drugs across the border.
Blagojevich claimed that many Americans already buy the sameprescription drugs from Canada, often saving up to 25 percent ontheir bills. Citing research, the governor estimated that buyingdrugs from our northern neighbors could save the state of Illinois$91 billion a year.
But Blagojevich's efforts to sway the FDA have not worked yet.Despite his requests, the department is cracking down on businessesacross the country that import prescription drugs from Canada.
The Justice Department has joined in the fight, seekinginjunctions against two companies that help Americans importCanadian drugs, Rx Depot Inc. and Rx of Canada LLC.
In a letter written earlier this year to Rx Depot (found on theFDA's Web site, www.fda.gov) the manager of the store is cited forviolating the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, which states itis illegal for anyone other than the U.S. manufacturer of a drug toimport that drug back into the United States.
The drug controversy has hit close to home in Indiana as well.On the one side are individuals such as Republican Rep. Dan Burtonwho support legal importation. Burton is so adamant about the issuehe was one of the sponsors of a U.S. House bill passed earlier thissummer legalizing the purchase of prescriptions in Canada and otherforeign countries.
On the other side are a handful of pharmaceutical companies,namely Eli Lilly and Co. here in Indianapolis (a Fortune 500company employing more than 30,000 people in more than 170countries), trying to hurt businesses like Rx Depot by sendingfewer pills to Canadian pharmacies. These companies hope that bymaking fewer drugs available to foreign countries, less will bemade available for illegal sale back into the United States.
You may be wondering whose side you should be on in this debateand that's a difficult question to answer. While it's easy to sidewith the millions of Americans who feel shortchanged, it's alsoimportant to point out the cost of drugs in the U.S. is necessaryfor research and new drug development.
The solution may be that both sides will have to compromise inthe months ahead in order for this country to come to grips withits health care crisis.
U.S. pharmaceutical companies should recognize the pressing needto bring down the cost of drugs in this country, sacrificing someof that expensive research in order to keep customers. In return,certain lawmakers should stop touting the need for Americans to buytheir drugs from Canada and focus on creating iniatives to helpmore people here in the states afford them.
If such concessions cannot be reached in the near future, thiscountry could soon be facing a whole new kind of "war ondrugs."
Write to Gail at glkoch@bsu.edu
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