Matheson Declares War on Counterfeit Drugs

WASHINGTON, Sept. 23 -- Rep. Jim Matheson, D-Utah (2nd CD), issued the following news release:

Congressman Jim Matheson has re-introduced a bipartisan bill to provide a way for authorities to track, seize and destroy counterfeit drugs before they wind up in Utahns' medicine cabinets. The bill, HR 3026--Safeguarding America's Pharmaceuticals Act--is cosponsored by California Congressman Brian Bilbray.

"The rules we have in place today are over 20 years old. Technology has evolved, and the counterfeiters are more capable. It is time to modernize our system to ensure the integrity of prescription medications in America," said Matheson.

Currently, the scope of the problem in the U.S. is small compared to that experienced by other countries. In Nigeria and the Ukraine, it's estimated that 40% of the drug supply is counterfeit. Fully one-half of all drugs in Pakistan are believed to be fake.

In 2003, the FDA announced a recall of some 200,000 bottles of Lipitor--a popular cholesterol-lowering drug-- that were believed to be fake. In previous years, 110,000 bottles of counterfeit Epogen and Procrit--drugs used to boost red blood cell production in people with cancer and kidney disease, made their way into the marketplace.

Matheson said that while the U.S. has been fortunate to avoid major problems with counterfeit medications so far, the fact that the U.S. is the largest, most lucrative prescription drug market in the world makes it a target for counterfeiters. The Center for Medicine in the Public interest finds that the worldwide market for counterfeit drugs grew to $75 billion annually in 2010. Matheson said some experts say it is more profitable to sell a counterfeit drug than a narcotic.

Matheson said his bill has several important requirements such as:

. Creating one, uniform national pedigree system--a record of every transaction involving a pharmaceutical shipment. To date, 35 states have either passed or introduced pedigree legislation or regulations with varying requirements.

. Creating a tracking system, using technologies like barcodes and radio frequency chips to enable drugs to be followed from point of manufacture to doctor's office or pharmacy.

. Authorizing the Food and Drug Administration to destroy its seizure of counterfeit drugs. Currently, the FDA is required to return seized counterfeit drugs back to the counterfeiters.

Matheson said drug makers and distributors support these common sense efforts to strengthen our drug supply chain.

"This is a public health concern. People need to know that when they take a prescribed pill it is real, undiluted and not laced with phony ingredients. We need to change current law so when officials seize counterfeit drugs coming into the U.S., they can destroy them rather than simply returning them to the counterfeiters. By implementing these steps now, we can go a long way towards safeguarding the medicine people need to get well and stay healthy," said Matheson.

TNS cp -110927-JF78-3601626 StaffFurigay