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HDA issues statement on FDA to examine prescription drug importation

Healthcare Distribution Alliance (HDA) president and chief executive officer John Gray released the following statement on the Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) recent directive to establish a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) work group to examine prescription drug importation policie

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ARLINGTON, Va. —Healthcare Distribution Alliance (HDA) president and chief executive officer John Gray released the following statement on the Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) recent directive to establish a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) work group to examine prescription drug importation policies:

“HDA and the nation’s primary pharmaceutical distributors appreciate the Trump administration’s efforts to address the high cost of healthcare in the United States. However, we have significant concerns with allowing the importation of prescription drugs intended for sale in foreign markets into this country. Importation would threaten and destabilizethe significant industry-government collaboration already underway to ensure the safety and security of the domestic pharmaceutical supply chain through implementation of the Drug Supply Chain Security Act (DSCSA).

“The U.S. pharmaceutical supply chain is a sophisticated, efficient and highly secure system, and in 2013, Congress made a firm commitment to further strengthening it by passing the DSCSA. This federal law was enacted to establish a uniform national framework for tracing prescription medicines. Pharmaceutical supply chain stakeholders currently are engaged in implementation efforts to meet DSCSA milestones, with the goal of achieving electronic, unit-level traceability of prescription drug products by 2023.

“HDA and our members are committed to working with the administration, Congress and our pharmaceutical industry partners to do what we can to deliver efficiencies to the supply chain to accomplish the objectives set forth in theBlueprint to Lower Drug Prices and Reduce Out-of-Pocket Costs. However, we urge HHS and FDA to honor their pledge to protect patients and the safety of the supply chain by maintaining our secure system of distribution.”

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