Have you ever asked your doctor or pharmacist if your medicine is real or counterfeit?  Probably not – and nor should you have to.  Unfortunately, such questions may become commonplace if Congress passes a bill that would allow for the importation of medicines from foreign countries. 

American patients currently enjoy peace of mind knowing that their medicines are safe and effective FOR THE MOST PART.  While every drug carries both benefits and risks, patients in the U.S. can be confident in the authenticity of their medicines.

These assurances are made possible by the closed drug distribution system overseen by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the states – a system that helps to protect the public health.  This closed distribution system, however, could be threatened by the soaring epidemic of counterfeits around the world, if the floodgates are opened by this legislation. 

Some members of Congress claim that importation is a solution to help patients access safe and affordable medicines.  This couldn’t be further from the truth.

Exposing our closed distribution system to imported medicines would dramatically raise the risk of counterfeit or substandard drugs creeping into our nation’s drug supply.  There is also no evidence that importation would lead to costs-savings since there is no guarantee that any savings will be passed onto consumers.

The threat is real, as observed in numerous press reports detailing how the sale of counterfeit drugs is becoming a growing worldwide epidemic.

The New York Times, for instance, reported that in Asia, “Bogus antibiotics, tuberculosis drugs, AIDS drugs and even meningitis vaccines have also been found,” adding that “[e]stimates of the deaths caused by fakes run from tens of thousands a year to 200,000 or more.”

The World Health Organization (WHO) has said that up to 50 percent of medicines consumed in developing countries are counterfeit, and a recent study by the Center for Medicines in the Public Interest found that counterfeit drug sales could reach $75 billion in 2010, a 92 percent increase from 2005.

Let’s ask Congress this then:  Is the counterfeiting crisis something you want to import into America? 

We should instead work together to help strengthen public and private programs that are helping more and more American patients access safe and effective medicines.  The Medicare prescription drug benefit is just one example of a program that is working well. Over 90 percent of seniors now have comprehensive drug coverage and they are saving on average $1,200 a year on their medicines, according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

And, pharmaceutical research companies are doing their part in helping America’s uninsured and underinsured access free or nearly-free medicines through public and private patient assistance programs available through the Partnership for Prescription Assistance (PPA).  Since PPA was launched in April 2005, more than 5 million Americans have been helped.

Through such programs, more patients are getting the medicines they need, with the assurances of safety and authenticity they deserve and have reasonably come to expect and rely on.