Pharmaceutical Imperialism

According to an opinion piece in The Guardian newspaper, “If you suffer from epilepsy and you live in Athens you are less likely to receive the vital drugs you need for treatment than if you live in London, Berlin or Amsterdam. And, says Konstantinos Lourantos, president of the Association of Pharmacies of Attica, the fact that they are freely available in other parts of Europe contributes to their shortage in his country. The reason? Lourantos, whose organisation represents some 3,500 pharmacists in and around Athens, blames companies that buy up medicines in Greece and export them to other EU countries, exploiting the price differences for drugs across the EU.”

Lourantos says: 'For example, there is a medicine called Lamictal for epilepsy which is imported to Greece but it is re-exported in such a huge quantity that there is very little left.' He says the problem affects supplies of a number of drugs, including Astra Zeneca's Seroqual for treating bipolar disorder and Risperdal, an anti-psychotic treatment.

Here’s a link to the complete story:

Guardian Story

My eldest son has epilepsy. I don’t want his access to the medicines he needs to lead an active life to be on the backs of those in other countries who have their drugs pirated away by parallel trade arbitragers.

Whether you call it parallel trade in the EU or "drug importation," on the Presidential campaign trail -- it's still pharmaceutical imperialism.