Bextra recall makes FDA look incompetent
The recent Bextra recall news and prior to that the manner in which Vioxx recall was handled by the FDA has made the agency look incompetent in the eyes of the world. FDA's own scientist Dr David Graham has charged the agency with putting interests of drug firms ahead of the American people. No wonder FDA has become a topic of ridicule. And the ones to take the most advantage of the situation are Canadian drug pharmacies that have cropped up during recent years to sell cheap prescription drugs to Americans who can not afford the prohibitive prices in the US. (Related article: How to import prescription drugs from Canada?)
The pharmacies are attacking the argument that the FDA has made over the years that drugs from Canada may not be safe. It is the same argument that the drug companies offer but even six-year olds find it laughable but that has not stopped the Bush Administration or the FDA or the pharmaceutical firms from making it. As the drug firms and Canadian pharmacies fight these battles, some interesting observations are being made in Canada about the FDA and the drug companies. (Related article: American doctors support importing prescriptin drugs from Canada)
"We note with some dismay that Pfizer, which has vigorously worked to restrict the supply of safe prescriptions from outside the U.S. for American citizens, still does not recognize the potential safety problems with its Cox- 2 pain relievers, choosing to disagree with the FDA findings, and offering only to work to add 'expanded' information on its labeling. It is ironic that Pfizer has been quick to push the FDA to question the safety of even their own products from registered Canadian pharmacies, but is now challenging the ability of the very same organization to identify a known safety problem with other of its products," says Jeff Uhl, president and CEO of Universal Drugstore. (Related article: Bextra recall announced but Pfizer disagrees with the FDA)
"For five years now, we have been dispensing safe and affordable prescription medications to the uninsured and underinsured in the U.S. and all along we have had officials on both sides of the border, including the FDA, warning Americans not to order drugs from Canada because they may not be safe but are FDA approved drugs available in the United States safe," asks Daren Jorgenson of Canadameds. "There are millions of people in North America and around the world that are taking drugs such as Bextra and Celebrex for years but only now we are learning that they may pose serious risks to ones health? What purpose does the FDA serve and how can it claim that drugs from Canada may not be safe when FDA approved drugs such as Bextra, Vioxx and Celebrex are now being introduced as drugs that may pose a serious risk to ones health," continues Jorgenson.
Drug re-importation from Canada has become a major issue in the United States, and much has been stated and written about this industry in the media. The American public has been told on numerous occasions by the FDA, the drug manufacturers, and certain politicians, that drugs from Canada may not be safe and that the high prices of drugs in the U.S. are justified by research and development costs. There are millions of American seniors, many of whom order prescription drugs from pharmacies in Canada, that have spent a significant amount of their incomes taking FDA approved drugs that companies such as Pfizer deemed safe who are now left wondering. "I can't imagine how those individuals that have had to decide between food on the table and prescription drugs such as Bextra and Vioxx are now feeling knowing that the thousands that they have spent on prescription drugs may have actually done more harm than good. Next time anyone from the FDA tells you that drugs from Canada may not be safe and next time the drug companies try to justify the high prices of prescriptions drugs with R&D costs, I ask the millions of suffering Americans in the United States to consider how accurate these statements actually are, realizing that some of the worlds most consumed drugs, which were FDA approved, are now being deemed a health risk," says Jorgenson.
John Lehmann, a pharmacologist, who is expected to provide expert testimony at some Vioxx hearings, explains that the FDA is simply repeating what the drug firms are tellint it to say. He says, "There's a nod and a wink between the industry and the FDA in this case and others."
Recommended article: Truth about the FDA and prescriptin drugs
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