We are disappointed to hear of another foreign entity trying to skirt U.S. federal law and market prescription drugs to Maine residents.
As the BDN reported in an Oct. 7 article, Great British Drug Store will begin offering online drugs. We have asserted from the beginning that Maine’s law that circumvents federal regulations regarding the importation of pharmaceuticals is not only illegal, but also unsafe.
Maine pharmacies adhere to strict state and federal regulations regarding their operations, and the online foreign entities, like Great British Drug Store, are not held to any oversight from state or federal regulators. It’s hard to believe in the 21st century that any state would allow foreign entities to provide health care products without verifying their credentials and without requiring licensing and ongoing oversight to ensure public safety. Unregulated drug importation is just another form of drug diversion.
Furthermore, according to the U.K. National Health Service, “It is illegal for [UK] pharmacists to supply medicines based on prescriptions issued outside the U.K., the EEA [European Economic Area] or Switzerland. This includes prescriptions by doctors in the U.S. and Canada.” Great British Drug Store is violating both U.S. and U.K. laws.
Maine’s new law has absolutely no reasonable measures in place to protect the public. If a medication imported from Great British Drug Store causes an adverse reaction in a patient, who does the patient turn to for help? Who is liable and responsible? The Great British Drug Store is clear in its terms and conditions that the customer is the importer and is on the hook if U.S. law enforcement seizes the shipment.
The terms and conditions state that customers must agree that “Great British Drug Store take[s] no responsibility for any order stopped or held by any international or domestic customs or security organization,” and that “the risk in the goods shall remain with us until they arrive at the point of entry into the USA or your country of import. You contract to us that you are personally importing the goods.”
Lastly, Maine-licensed pharmacists help patients find safe and affordable medication options every day. In fact, according to the IMS Institute for Healthcare Informatics, 84 percent of all prescriptions dispensed by U.S.-licensed pharmacists are generics. For example, the Hannaford Healthy Saver price for a 90-day supply of FDA-approved generic Lipitor (atorvastatin) 40 mg is $9.99. Great British Drug Store advertises a 28 count of 40 mg pills of “Lipitor” at $108.40, before shipping.
The Retail Association of Maine and the Maine Pharmacy Association remain committed plaintiffs in the federal lawsuit to overturn Maine’s foreign drug importation law. Maine’s importation law puts Mainers at risk and violates federal law.
Curtis Picard is executive director of the Retail Association of Maine. Kenneth McCall, BSPharm, PharmD, is immediate past president of the Maine Pharmacy Association and an associate professor in the College of Pharmacy at the University of New England.