12 July 2004

Letter: David MacKay ? Executive Director Canadian International Pharmacy Association

The shear hubris of this is mind boggling. (See the NY Times article below) Free Trade Agreements have now become "Forced Trade" Agreements. I wonder if we told Wal-Mart that they can no longer leverage better acquisition costs with their purchasing power - would they see that as an act of free trade?! It's much like the Pharma-lobbied prohibition of the government negotiating a better deal in the Medicare Modernization Act but only on a larger scale. (That to me is the definition of a price control) Now the Bush Administration is telling other countries how to administer their own Healthcare programs. Leveraging export advantages is one thing but dictating terms of social health plans in other countries is quite another. Obviously the Administration needed a precedent setting guinea pig to establish a Pharma-serving policy so they preyed on Australia which seemed to capitulate under intense trade pressure. However, I don't think they will find other countries quite as willing to surrender so easily. In fact, they would literally have to chase down 20+ countries in the EU to subdue the Parallel Trade of prescription drugs there. No doubt Canada and Japan are next on the list. Bon chance.

I can assure you, legal or not, "Forced Trade" or not, CIPA pharmacies will deliver safely to uninsured and underinsured American patients, just as we have for over 3 years. This is a tactic to try to pre-empt and counter pending importation legislation in Congress. I fail to see how raising drug prices all around the world serves the needs of millions of desperate Americans who struggle to afford their medications or forgo them entirely. When senior citizens cry foul about the differences in drug prices in the U.S. vs. the rest of the world I don't think they see the solution as making the world pay more. The absence of logic in this trade scheme is astounding. Slamming it into law even before deciding the drug importation debate is indeed a throwing down of the gauntlet. Instead of finessing their way through due consideration, Pharma and the Administration have instead chosen the most belligerent path possible. If nothing else, it is predictable. It may derail legislation but it will not eliminate drug importation. In fact, it w ill only strengthen the resolve of those who both order and offer the service. We are not going away.

David MacKay   Executive Director Canadian International Pharmacy Association

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