Sanders to FDA - Release Vermonters Medicines Now!

SANDERS TO FDA: RELEASE VERMONTERS MEDICINES NOW!

Joined by two of his colleagues in the House of Representatives, Reps. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) and Rahm Emanuel (D-IL), Sanders called on the FDA to halt what appear to be targeted wholesale seizures aimed at a well-known supplier of safe medicines.

Sanders said, "It is an outrage that Americans continue to be forced to pay - by far - the highest prices in the world for prescription drugs. Vermonters should not be forced to pay three to five times as much as the price for the exact same medicine in Canada. And, most of all, the Bush Administration should not be doing the bidding of the pharmaceutical industry in its efforts to cut Americans off from their only source of safe and affordable medicines."

Sanders said he learned of the detained medicines last week when a constituent called his office complaining that she and her husband were about to run out of needed medicines, including her husbands heart medicine. Read the Letter to the FDA:

August 12, 2004

Lester Crawford, DVM, PhD
Acting Commissioner
Food and Drug Administration
Department of Health and Human Services
5600 Fishers Lane
Rockville, MD 20857

Dear Acting Commissioner Crawford:

We are writing regarding reports of seizures of important lifesaving prescriptions being undertaken by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Customs in the port of Miami. Thousands of senior citizens from almost every state in the Union had ordered a supply of these critical drugs for themselves to treat chronic life threatening conditions, via a known supplier of these medicines, CanadaRX, which has a record of providing them with a safe, affordable option to the high prescription drug prices in the United States. While a review of drug imports is appropriate, we urge you to halt what appear to be targeted wholesale seizures aimed at a known supplier of safe medicines.

If it is the intention of the FDA to change its policy of permitting the import of ninety-day personal supplies then seniors and others suffering from chronic conditions need to be informed of that change immediately.

Unfortunately, this is not the first time that the FDA has obstructed appropriate reimportation of FDA approved prescription drugs and it is very troubling that FDA would choose to launch another "blitz" to prevent drug reimportation counter to its policy.

This is especially true in a time when national opinion is clearly running in favor of prescription drug reimportation: a majority of the House of Representatives have voted in favor of prescription drug reimportation, polls have consistently shown that more than two-thirds of Americans support importation, and recently four-fifths of Medicare recipients said they support importation and the government negotiating for lower prices. Rather than target an experienced provider at the border, we hope you will cooperate with Congress and work to find solutions to lower drug prices for seniors. Americans deserve access to safe, affordable pharmaceuticals, and this action threatens their ability to access these drugs.

Please inform us immediately of your plans to remedy this situation.

Sincerely,

Rosa L. DeLauro, Member of Congress

Rahm Emanuel, Member of Congress

Bernard Sanders, Member of Congress