Terrorists Could Tamper With U.S. Drug Supply, Target Reimported Prescription Drugs, FDA Warns
FDA Acting Commissioner Lester Crawford on Wednesday said that "cues from chatter" collected internationally indicate that terrorists could target the United States' food and drug supply, particularly prescription drugs that are illegally imported from other nations, the AP/Las Vegas Sun reports. In an interview with the Associated Press, Crawford said the possibility of such an attack is the most serious of his concerns about increased attempts from states and cities to save money by importing prescription drugs from Canada. Crawford said that he has been briefed about al-Qaida threats disclosed during recent arrests and raids; he declined to comment further. According to Crawford, the agency receives information from "the intelligence community and also from past incidents and things that happened domestically." He noted a 1982 incident in which packages of extra-strength Tylenol were removed from shelves, filled with cyanide and returned for sale, leading to seven deaths. Crawford said, "I would think [that case] is something they would be looking at. Nothing like that has happened, but it is a source of continuing concern." Brian Roehrkasse, spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security said, "While we must assume that such a threat exists generally, we have no specific information about any al-Qaida threats to our food or drug supply."
FDA Position
FDA officials have voiced concerns about the safety of importing prescription drugs from other countries; however, the agency to date "has done little more than issue warning letters," the AP/Sun reports. Crawford maintains that some drugs that are shipped illegally are not properly refrigerated, contain the wrong potency of active ingredients or contain no active ingredients at all. Crawford added that the agency has not yet decided on a course of action regarding a lawsuit expected to be filed by the state of Vermont over FDA's opposition on reimportation (Henderson, AP/Las Vegas Sun, 8/12).
Minn., FDA Respond to D.C. Web Site Link to Minnesota RxConnect
In other reimportation news, Minnesota officials said that a link recently added to Washington, D.C.'s government Web site that directs users to Minnesota RxConnect, a Minnesota Web site that helps state residents reimport prescription drugs from Canada, violates a contract between the state and participating pharmacies, the Washington Times reports. Minnesota officials on Wednesday asked officials for the District to remove the link (McElhatton, Washington Times, 8/12). FDA on Wednesday criticized District officials for the inclusion of the link, saying reimportation might not be safe. The Web site includes the disclaimer: "Be aware: Federal law prohibits U.S. residents from purchasing pharmaceuticals from other countries while inside the United States; however, the law is currently not being enforced." District Council member David Catania proposed the link because a legal dispute has delayed the implementation of a District law enacted in May that would establish a prescription drug program for low-income seniors and uninsured residents (Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, 8/11). Daniel McElroy, chief of staff for Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R), said, "Our contracts with the pharmacies in Canada are very specific that they're for Minnesota customers only." He added, "Our contract does not permit us to have another government linking to the site" (Washington Times, 8/11). District City Administrator Robert Bobb said, "I think the Web site has enough disclaimers on it so that we are not violating federal law. If the (inspector general) or someone else says that we are violating federal law, then we'll shut the Web site down. But we haven't heard that yet." FDA plans to discuss the Web site and federal regulations with District Mayor Anthony Williams (D) (Labbé, Washington Post, 8/12).
