Two cheers for Congresswoman Rosa L. DeLauro for holding yesterday’s FDA oversight hearing.
Throughout her career, Representative DeLauro has expressed a brazen disregard for drug safety, continually calling on policymakers to open our borders to an uncontrollable influx of untested, impure, expired, and counterfeit drugs from around the world.
Today, however, drug importation was noticeably absent from the agenda.
Perhaps importation was left off the agenda because of the recent report that contaminated heparin, manufactured in China, is responsible for at least four deaths. Or perhaps she ignored importation because today’s hearing comes just one year after dozens of cats and dogs died of kidney failure after ingesting contaminated pet food -- and only one year after counterfeit Colgate toothpaste containing diethylene glycol infiltrated the U.S. market.
Regardless of her reasoning, it seems grossly irresponsible to grandstand for drug safety on one day and call for the importation of foreign drugs on another.
Let’s look at the facts. The World Health Organization estimates that eight to 10 percent of today’s global medicine supply chain is counterfeit. According to the Food and Drug Administration, that figure jumps to 50 percent or higher in some countries.
Without legalized prescription drug importation, the number of counterfeit drug investigations has increased four-fold since the late 1990s. Just imagine what will happen if such a thoughtless policy were codified.
Perhaps Representative DeLauro will take this opportunity to publicly denounce drug importation and take action to keep counterfeit drugs out of the U.S. medicine supply.
Perhaps not.
Throughout her career, Representative DeLauro has expressed a brazen disregard for drug safety, continually calling on policymakers to open our borders to an uncontrollable influx of untested, impure, expired, and counterfeit drugs from around the world.
Today, however, drug importation was noticeably absent from the agenda.
Perhaps importation was left off the agenda because of the recent report that contaminated heparin, manufactured in China, is responsible for at least four deaths. Or perhaps she ignored importation because today’s hearing comes just one year after dozens of cats and dogs died of kidney failure after ingesting contaminated pet food -- and only one year after counterfeit Colgate toothpaste containing diethylene glycol infiltrated the U.S. market.
Regardless of her reasoning, it seems grossly irresponsible to grandstand for drug safety on one day and call for the importation of foreign drugs on another.
Let’s look at the facts. The World Health Organization estimates that eight to 10 percent of today’s global medicine supply chain is counterfeit. According to the Food and Drug Administration, that figure jumps to 50 percent or higher in some countries.
Without legalized prescription drug importation, the number of counterfeit drug investigations has increased four-fold since the late 1990s. Just imagine what will happen if such a thoughtless policy were codified.
Perhaps Representative DeLauro will take this opportunity to publicly denounce drug importation and take action to keep counterfeit drugs out of the U.S. medicine supply.
Perhaps not.
