ST. LOUIS, Feb. 15 /PRNewswire/ — The publisher of a leading informational web site for America’s seniors today charged the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) with deliberate deceit and misleading the American public about where their prescriptions come from.
Daniel Hines, publisher of http://www.todaysseniorsnetwork.com/ , says that the FDA has engaged in deceit by claiming that prescribed drugs ordered from legitimate pharmacies outside the U.S. are ‘unsafe’ if they come from different countries other than the country in which the order was placed.
“The fact is that the majority of the prescriptions used by Americans — whether they are purchased at a local pharmacy or from a licensed pharmacy outside the U.S. — are not manufactured in this country,” Hines says.
“The FDA is well aware of this since they provide oversight of drug company manufacturing facilities in countries around the world to supposedly ensure that those drugs are manufactured to FDA standards so they can be sold to U.S. citizens.
“To claim that those same prescription drugs for which the FDA has provided oversight are unsafe when prescriptions are filled from licensed pharmacies outside the U.S. is disingenuous at best and fraudulent at worse.”
Hines notes that the latest claims of ‘unsafe’ prescriptions coincide with the introduction of the flawed Medicare Prescription Drug Card Part D plan.
“The cozy relationship between the FDA and large drug manufacturers is well-known and borders on nothing less than a national scandal,” Hines says. “This is an obvious attempt to scare America’s elderly into participating in Part D.
“That is why http://www.todaysseniorsnetwork.com/ will be implementing a petition drive among the elderly, the disabled and low-income people to seek new labeling standards that require identification of the country where prescription drugs are manufactured, whether in the U.S. or other countries where drug companies have manufacturing sites.”
Hines said that it is imperative that Congress reestablish its legislative authority over the FDA, stating that addressing the latest misstatements of the agency would be a good place to start.
“For years, we have watched as Congress has floundered on a number of issues involving the FDA and its relationship with pharmaceutical manufacturers,” Hines explains. “This includes failure to act on allowing access to prescription drugs from outside the U.S., even though a majority of both the Senate and House of Representatives favors such legislation. It also includes being hamstrung as the FDA takes actions such as sporadic and irregularly applied seizures of prescribed drugs ordered from licensed pharmacies outside the U.S. even though existing law allows such purchases by Americans when a drug or medicine is not available in the U.S.”
Hines points out that a prescription that is unaffordable is not available, and therefore makes the elderly, disabled and lower-income people eligible to order from pharmacies outside the U.S.
“The failure of our elected officials to act to remedy this situation and make the law work for the elderly, poor and disabled reflects the pervasive influence of the relationship of many lawmakers with drug companies, or failure by supporters of allowing access to prescription drugs from outside the U.S. to exercise the political courage and leadership that puts the drug companies and the FDA on notice that their actions are not acceptable and will no longer be tolerated.
“Since drug manufacturers and the FDA claim to be so concerned about the country of origin for prescription drugs, they should jump at the opportunity to let American consumers know where their prescriptions are actually produced,” Hines concludes.
First Call Analyst: FCMN Contact: [email protected]
Daniel Hines
CONTACT: Daniel Hines, +1-314-308-2545
Web site: http://www.todaysseniorsnetwork.com/
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