11 California
seniors denied access
to life-sustaining drugs
in FDA seizure
of prescriptions at LAX
Los Angeles,
February 25, 2005—Only
a week after a panel appointed by the Food and Drug Administration
(FDA) recommended allowing the sale of known potentially harmful
pain-relieving drugs as an ‘acceptable risk’, the agency seized a
shipment of life-sustaining drugs, including Lipitor, a
cholesterol-lowering prescription, intended for delivery to 11
California senior citizens. The seizure took place at Los Angeles
Airport.
The shipment came from a licensed pharmacy in another country. An
FDA spokesperson said the reason for the seizure was that the drugs
were ‘misbranded’ and ‘unapproved,’ although all Lipitor is
manufactured at FDA-approved facilities outside the U.S. by Pfizer,
Inc.
Pfizer has been a leader in moves to restrict the access of
Americans to prescriptions from any source other than US pharmacies,
where prices are up to 60 percent higher than other countries.
The seizure comes at a time that bi-partisan support is growing in
Congress among Representatives and Senators for legislation that
will allow shipments of prescription drugs from countries outside
the US. Legislation for such sales has been introduced in both
Houses.
In a prepared statement, a spokesperson for seniors
noted that it was ironic that while the FDA was willing to cite an
‘acceptable risk’ for such drugs as Celebrex (also manufactured by
Pfizer) and Vioxx (Merck), it continues its attack upon American
seniors with actions such as the California seizure of proven-safe
and important drugs, a move than that can adversely affect the
health and even the lives of the 11 seniors.
“To claim that any prescription from a licensed, registered pharmacy
that has met the regulatory standards of its country—standards that
are often more stringent than in the U.S.—is unsafe is a flawed
attempt by the FDA to justify its actions,” says Daniel Hines,
publisher of
www.TodaysSeniorsNetwork.com , a leading informational web site
for seniors.
“Additionally, the Lipitor was manufactured at an FDA-approved
facility.
“The FDA continues to attempt to portray itself as a ‘protector’ of
seniors and the un- and underinsured, while at the same time, it
moves to restore potentially damaging drugs to the market with
decisions that could endanger lives, and that are of benefit
primarily to large pharmaceutical companies.”
The seniors whose prescriptions were seized have regularly ordered
their drugs from a licensed pharmacy outside the U.S., Hines noted.
“These 11 elderly people turned to sources other than in this
country because they had to make difficult choices forced by the
extreme-pricing practices of companies such as Pfizer,” Hines
noted. “In so doing, the affected seniors have established
client-provider relationships based upon trust, professionalism and
reliability, as well as cost.
“In its mission statement, the FDA notes that it is
responsible for advancing the public health by helping to speed
innovations that make medicines and foods more effective, safer, and
more affordable,” Hines said. “It is time for it to fulfill that
part of its mission and a good first step would be to return the
life-sustaining prescription drugs—manufactured at FDA-approved
facilities-- it seized at the Los Angeles Airport to the seniors
they have endangered.”