US plan to source drugs in Ireland illegal and unworkable

A PROPOSAL by a United States governor to source prescription drugs in Ireland has been branded unworkable, illegal in its present form and damaging to sick Irish people.

Representatives of the pharmaceutical industry believe the proposal by the Illinois governor, which has received huge coverage in the US, is a non-starter.

In a statement released by the governor, it was claimed he dispatched a delegation of public health and drug officials to Europe who met with, among others, representatives from governments, pharmacies and wholesalers. Bodies representing drug manufacturers and pharmacists say they did not meet with a team sent by Governor Rod Blagojevich, who announced his plan on Tuesday.

The claim has baffled the Health Department, which has no record of any meeting with such a delegation.

“We are the representative body of the pharmaceutical industry and they did not talk to us,” said Anne Nolan, chief executive of the Irish Pharmaceutical Healthcare Association.

Olive Stevens, of the Irish Pharmaceutical Union, the pharmacists’ trade union, said: “We have not met any delegation.”

Ms Nolan said of the plan: “It’s very unworkable and impractical. Also, if it were to be executed, it would be damaging to the interests of Irish patients.”

Ireland has enough prescription drugs in warehouses and in pharmacies to cover the population’s needs for no more than six weeks. Any sudden rise in demand would put pressure on supply, say industry figures. It is believed Ireland was singled out because of the low costs of its drugs and because the packaging is in English.

The Irish Medicines Board said the supply of prescription drugs to patients by mail order or from a wholesaler is prohibited, both in Ireland and abroad. Governor Blagojevich, with other senior politicians in the US, has led a high-profile campaign over the prohibitively high cost of prescription drugs, which can be up to five times dearer than in Ireland.

The US drug market is free from price regulation, unlike all European countries and Canada. The FDA, the US regulator, described the proposal as illegal. The industry here is unlikely to bypass the regulator.

The Bush administration opposes the importation of prescription drugs, but presidential candidate John Kerry is more flexible.

In Europe, the parallel import scheme allows drugs to be sent from a member state to another and licensed for sale by the receiver.