ENZI: DORGAN FOREIGN DRUG ACT A THREAT TO PUBLIC HEALTH IF NOT AMENDED

Washington D.C. – U.S. Senator Mike Enzi, R-WY, Ranking Member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee (HELP Committee), today said attaching the Dorgan amendment to the landmark, bipartisan drug safety bill being considered by the Senate will put the health and safety of Americans in jeopardy by allowing drugs lacking FDA approval into the US, and urged his colleagues to oppose the amendment. “Supporters of the Dorgan Foreign Drug Act like to claim that this bill would only allow FDA-approved drugs into this country,” Enzi said. “It’s a convenient sales pitch, but it’s just not true. FDA is not in the business of approving foreign drugs, manufactured in foreign countries, intended for distribution to foreign consumers. “The fact is, the Dorgan Foreign Drug Act, if not amended, would allow drugs similar to FDA-approved drugs to enter our country and threaten our consumers. These are not FDA-approved drugs, but the Dorgan amendment is based on the premise on that drugs close to FDA-approved versions are good enough for the American people. “I fundamentally disagree. Close enough isn’t good enough. It’s not good enough for me, it’s not good enough for my family, and it’s not good enough for the American people. Close enough is no prescription for safety.” “Under both Democratic and Republican administrations, Secretaries of Health and Human Services have declined to certify that foreign drugs – like those allowed under the Dorgan Foreign Drug Act – are safe for American consumers. They realized, as I do, that close enough isn’t good enough.” Enzi said the Dorgan Amendment to S. 1082 would open America’s borders to drugs manufactured in or imported from other countries around the world. If not amended, it would not establish sufficient mechanisms to ensure that these drugs are safe and beneficial, and it puts Americans at a much greater risk of taking counterfeit or tainted drugs, particularly when consumers purchase drugs through Internet-based pharmacies. “I am committed to working with my colleagues to find innovative ways to reduce the costs of prescription drugs without compromising the health and well-being of Americans,” Enzi said. “The Dorgan amendment, however, will put patient lives at risk, and that is a compromise I am unwilling to make. I urge my colleagues to oppose this amendment.” ####