Studies say consumers support drug importation

Michelle Swafford

Tuesday, June 22, 2004 | 10:47 a.m.

A growing number of studies say importation of pharmaceuticals is inevitable because of rising costs, despite the fact that the federal government says doing so may not be safe and could hurt U.S. pharmaceutical profit.

New York-based NOP World Health released a study Thursday that shows 76 percent of consumers say they should be able to buy their prescriptions outside of the United States even though only 6 percent have pur- chased drugs from other countries, possibly because it is illegal.

NOP World Health is part of National Opinion Poll World, a conglomeration of market research companies.

The study also reported that pharmacies, especially independent ones, are worried about losing profit if more consumers turn to Canada and other countries with lower-priced drugs.

The same day, the Healthcare Distribution Management Association, which represents drug wholesalers, held a seminar in Las Vegas during its national conference about the growing popularity of importing drugs and how it will affect drug wholesalers.

About 8 percent of the 175 pharmacists surveyed estimate they've lost business to Canadian pharmacies, but 51 percent of them say they expect their business loss to increase in the next six months, the NOP study said.

About 40 percent of the pharmacists interviewed for the study say they suggest patients talk with their physicians about less expensive drugs when they complain about costs.

The study found that about 41 percent of the 75 internal medicine physicians interviewed and 48 percent of the 75 general practice physicians interviewed offer drug samples when patients complain of high drug costs.

The NOP World Health study reported that 40 percent of Americans are paying $51 or more per month for prescriptions.

"Almost every patient is talking with their doctors or pharmacist about their prescription drug costs," said Cary Silvers, vice president and research group director of NOP World. "Interestingly, who they're not talking to is the prescription drug companies."

NOP World Health also interviewed managed care insurers to find out whether they were seeing an increase in claims for prescriptions filled outside of the United States and whether they supported importation.

The 28 surveyed managed-care insurers were divided on whether to allow patients to import their drugs from Canada or other countries. Most of the surveyed insurers do not pay claims on drugs from foreign pharmacies, and 68 percent of them said that is not likely to change.

The National Association of Chain Drug Stores, the National Community Pharmacists Association and the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy oppose drug importation, yet CVS and Walgreens retail pharmacies have said they support safe drug importation.

On the government side, several states support importation even though the Food and Drug Administration, which is the ultimate drug enforcer, says it cannot ensure the safety of imported drugs.

In May, 18 states, including Arizona and California, sent a letter to the U.S. Health and Human Services Department asking for permission to import drugs from Canada.

There are several bills in Congress that would permit drug importation, but their outcomes are uncertain.

The General Accounting Office reported Thursday that when it bought drugs from 68 Internet pharmacies in 12 countries, some of the drugs, which were not from Canada, were counterfeit or contained improper drug compositions. Many of the pharmacies did not require prescriptions and lacked warning and instruction information.

Washington-based attorney Doug Farquhar, who speaks across the nation about drug importation, told drug wholesalers Thursday at the Healthcare Distribution Management Association conference that the reason patients turn to Canada is because they can save an average of 40 percent on their prescriptions.

He said that importing drugs from Canada may only lower drug prices slightly for consumers because Canada does not have the supply to meet Americans' demands. In fact, the entire Canadian drug supply would equate to only 10 percent of the U.S. drug supply.

The Healthcare Distribution Management Association has said it is concerned about the authenticity of imported drugs, a potential drug shortage and how to recall imported drugs.

Some drug manufacturers such as Pfizer Inc., GlaxoSmithKline and Eli Lilly are trying to discourage Canadian drug importation to the United States by restricting Canadian orders to prevent surplus supplies that could be exported, Farquhar said.

He said some of the federal bills would prohibit manufacturers from "choking the supply chain."

Several senior coalitions are encouraging consumers to boycott products made by Pfizer and GlaxoSmithKline, but the boycotts haven't had much impact, Farquhar said.

"It's anybody's guess how this will all pan out," Farquhar said.