Rx Importation’s Appeal For Sen. Obama Wanes As Safety Concerns Rise
Executive Summary
Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama appears to be moving away from making drug importation a main component of his health care agenda if he is elected
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A down payment on Rx importation?
The budget outline released by the Obama administration Feb. 26 "supports" FDA's "new efforts to allow Americans to buy safe and effective drugs from other countries." It is one of only three agenda items for the agency in the budget - the others are follow-on biologics and product safety - and there are no details on the cost of the efforts. In a background briefing, an official with the White House Office of Management and Budget explained the funding will "begin to lay the basis for safe and effective reimportation at FDA. But we think we need to put some infrastructure and build some processes there to do that." While Obama made importation a campaign plank, interest in it cooled as drug safety concerns heated up (1"The Pink Sheet," Oct. 20, 2008, p. 14)
A down payment on Rx importation?
The budget outline released by the Obama administration Feb. 26 "supports" FDA's "new efforts to allow Americans to buy safe and effective drugs from other countries." It is one of only three agenda items for the agency in the budget - the others are follow-on biologics and product safety - and there are no details on the cost of the efforts. In a background briefing, an official with the White House Office of Management and Budget explained the funding will "begin to lay the basis for safe and effective reimportation at FDA. But we think we need to put some infrastructure and build some processes there to do that." While Obama made importation a campaign plank, interest in it cooled as drug safety concerns heated up (1"The Pink Sheet," Oct. 20, 2008, p. 14)
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