Today, the Washington Post published this story on the Administration’s interest in exploring importing drugs from other countries that have not been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as a way to combat high drug prices in limited circumstances.
The FDA is planning a working group to examine the safety of importing drugs in specific situations, such as a price increase for ‘an off-patent drug produced by a single manufacturer.’
While the Admin
istration has expressed interest in exploring safe and affordable importation as a solution to the problem of high drug prices previously, this could be a promising step toward taking action.
Rachel Sachs, a Washington University School of Law professor, describes the idea as ‘a very smart move that would allow the administration to respond to some of the worst actors that we have seen in drug pricing.’
We agree. This is an idea whose time has come.
The full article can be found here.