Some Tea Party

On December 18, 2003 Thomas Menino, Mayor of Boston, came to the FDA for a discussion of drug importation.  I was there.

I was there to hear the mayor lecture us on internet pharmacy safety.  I thought he was there to engage in a dialogue.  I was wrong.  He was there to grandstand.

Here’s how our meeting was covered in the Boston Globe on December 19^th:

And again a few days later on “Your World With Neil Cavuto.” 

How times change. According to a story in last week’s Boston Globe, “Four years after Mayor Thomas M. Menino bucked federal regulators and made Boston the biggest city nationally to offer low-cost Canadian prescription drugs to employees and retirees, the program has fizzled, never having attracted more than a few dozen participants.”

In late July of 2008, the Canadian supplier for the program, Winnipeg-based Total Care Pharmacy, sent a letter to city officials saying the firm was terminating its agreement because there were so few participants. In 2006, Boston saved $4,300 on a total of 73 prescriptions. When Total Care decided to end its relationship with the city, only 16 Boston retirees were still participating.

But, as they say, denial is more than just a river in Egypt.  As the Globe reports, “Boston City Council member Michael Ross said he believes the city was forced to abandon the program because of federal pressure. The Food and Drug Administration strongly opposed efforts by cities and states to offer Canadian prescription drugs, saying the suppliers were not regulated by the United States and that the safety of the drugs could not be guaranteed.”

Yes – we did say all those things.  And that remains the position of the FDA.  And it's the correct position.  As to the reason Mayor Menino's program failed you can, as the Ol’ Perfessor used to say, look it up  -- only 16 participants.

Some tea party.