Importation

Simply put, importation schemes for prescription drugs are not safe. Criminal networks around the globe are selling dangerous counterfeit drugs to innocent victims -- people who might think they are getting a good deal but who in reality are receiving medicines that are fake, substandard and in some cases lethal. Criminals are not only targeting “lifestyle” drugs but also vital medicines that treat cancer, diabetes, malaria and high blood pressure.

Exposing the United States’ closed, carefully regulated pharmaceutical distribution system to imported medicines raises the risk of counterfeit or substandard drugs creeping into the medicine supply. The most common mechanism for counterfeit drugs to enter the U.S. drug supply is through purchases made via illegal online pharmacy sites operated by criminals in other countries with known counterfeiting problems. Targeting these illegal sites can help protect patient safety and ensure that the closed U.S. drug-supply system is not compromised.

Outside the United States, where there is largely an open drug-supply system, the counterfeit problem is worsening. “The number of counterfeit medicines arriving in Europe ... is constantly growing,” a former leading European Union commissioner said. “The European Commission is extremely worried. In just two months, the EU seized 34 million fake tablets at customs points in all member countries. This exceeded our worst fears.”

U.S. officials also have expressed concern about the counterfeit threat and believe importation proposals could make matters worse. Secretaries of the Health and Human Services Department, under both Republican and Democratic administrations, have not been able to certify the safety or cost-savings of importation schemes. And several efforts by states and cities to get savings from importation programs often cost taxpayers millions of dollars, with officials eventually halting the programs.

In most cases, criminals caught selling counterfeit medicines in the United States face lighter jail sentences and penalties than criminals selling illicit drugs such as heroin. PhRMA advocates for stricter sentencing guidelines for counterfeiters. The average current jail time is three years, but PhRMA believes 20 years is a better penalty for such a potentially deadly crime.

America’s pharmaceutical research and biotechnology companies -- whose lifeblood is the safety and integrity of the products they develop -- are committed to helping federal agencies protect and prevent the proliferation of counterfeit medicines in the United States and abroad. There are safer alternatives that can help patients access safe medicines:

The Medicare prescription-drug program, for instance, has helped more than 40 million seniors and America’s disabled save money on their medicines. And the Partnership for Prescription Assistance, a program spearheaded by America’s pharmaceutical research companies, has helped nearly 7 million uninsured and underinsured Americans access patient assistance programs that provide free or nearly free medicines. Patients can access more information about PPA by calling a toll-free number, 1-888-4PPA-NOW, or by going online at www.pparx.org.

Resources

Partnership for Prescription Assistance
PPA partners help qualifying patients without prescription drug coverage get the medicines they need for free or nearly free. The partnership’s mission is to increase awareness of patient assistance programs, boost enrollment of those who are eligible and offer a single point of access to more than 475 public and private programs, including nearly 200 offered by pharmaceutical companies. Get the facts about PPA and its impact.