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[Gene GeRue <genegerue AT ruralize.com>]

Here is a surprising piece of apparent honesty and humanity about legal 
drugs by someone high up in a drug company. The only self-service I can 
think of is that greater volume would make up for lowered prices, as he 
notes happened in Northern Europe. He seems to be honest. How refreshing.

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/10/30/opinion/30rost.html

Medicines Without Borders
By PETER ROST

Published: October 30, 2004

I have a confession to make. I am a drug company executive who believes we 
should legalize the reimportation of prescription drugs. I know that I have 
a different opinion from that of my employer on this matter, but to me, 
importation of drugs is about much more than money; it is about saving 
American lives.
According to a study by the Kaiser Family Foundation issued in 2000, 15 
percent of uninsured children went without prescription medication in the 
previous year because of cost, 28 percent of uninsured adults went without 
prescription medication because of cost, and 87 percent of uninsured people 
with serious health problems reported trouble obtaining needed medication. 
We have 67 million Americans without insurance for drugs, according to the 
foundation. They pay cash - full price - and can't always afford 
life-saving drugs. American drug prices are about 70 percent higher than in 
Canada and almost twice as high as in Europe.
Drugs won't help save millions of lives if people can't afford to take 
them. I know that some people do not agree with me. Among them is President 
Bush. Senator John Kerry noted in the second presidential debate that Mr. 
Bush in 2000 had said that importation of drugs approved in the United 
States "makes sense," but that Mr. Bush had blocked legislation allowing 
it. Mr. Bush countered: "When a drug comes in from Canada, I want to make 
sure it cures you and doesn't kill you,'' and added, "What my worry is, is 
that, you know, it looks like it's from Canada, and it might be from a 
third world."
What Mr. Bush didn't say is that regulated importation of drugs would take 
away that risk, a risk Americans now face every day when they go surfing on 
the Internet for cheaper drugs. In fairness, Mr. Bush did say that he hoped 
to revisit the issue soon.
What I know about importation of drugs is based upon my experience in 
marketing pharmaceuticals in the United States and Europe for two decades. 
Importation or parallel trade of drugs has been done safely within Europe 
for over 20 years.
A few years back I was responsible for a region in Northern Europe. We had 
lots of drugs coming into my area through parallel traders. I countered by 
lowering some of my own prices and in the process doubled sales in my 
region in just two years.
In Europe, importers supply only authorized wholesalers or registered 
pharmacies; they do not sell to the public. So the chain remains closed. 
Authorized drugs are purchased from authorized wholesalers in one European 
Union country and sold to authorized distributors in another union country. 
This is the kind of system we should put in place in the United States.
Until that happens, to ensure safety, a good intermediate step is for 
states and cities to step in and provide access to lower-priced drugs. 
Boston and Springfield, Mass., have already established import programs for 
low-cost, Canadian drugs, while states like Minnesota and Wisconsin have 
established Web sites linking residents to Canadian pharmacies approved by 
state health officials.
Make no mistake about it, they are the real heroes in this battle. Every 
day Americans die because they can't afford life-saving drugs. Every day 
Americans die because Congress wants to protect the profits of giant drug 
corporations, half of the top 10 of which are French, British and Swiss 
conglomerates.
I have another confession to make. Americans are dying without the 
appropriate drugs because my industry and Congress are more concerned about 
protecting astronomical profits for conglomerates than they are about 
protecting the health of Americans.
Peter Rost, a doctor, is a marketing executive for Pfizer.