Senator Sherrod Brown (D, OH) thinks that pharmaceutical companies are taking advantage of lower safety standards in countries like China and India to lower costs and has also asked Pfizer for details of its outsourcing to countries without the same drug safety standards as the US.
It should also be noted that this is the same Sherrod Brown who supports drug importation.
In a letter to Janet Woodcock, the Senator referred to her testimony to the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor & Pensions (HELP) where she had said that drug companies outsource because of "different governmental regulations in different parts of the world", "lower, less stringent standards in some parts of the world", and lower labor costs in developing countries.
The senator has asked Dr Woodcock for details of the volume of outsourced drug ingredients, the added costs of regulating outsourced ingredients, and the 'bearer' of those costs. He has also asked for measures to hold companies accountable for outsourcing.
Perhaps Senator Brown is contemplating user fees for foreign inspections?
In a separate letter to Pfizer, the Senator asked about the drugmaker's annual savings through outsourcing and a list of instances where Pfizer has outsourced manufacturing due to lack of technical expertise.
That former list should be pretty short. Hopefully Pfizer will also discuss the technical expertise it provides.
What can Brown do for you?
It should also be noted that this is the same Sherrod Brown who supports drug importation.
In a letter to Janet Woodcock, the Senator referred to her testimony to the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor & Pensions (HELP) where she had said that drug companies outsource because of "different governmental regulations in different parts of the world", "lower, less stringent standards in some parts of the world", and lower labor costs in developing countries.
The senator has asked Dr Woodcock for details of the volume of outsourced drug ingredients, the added costs of regulating outsourced ingredients, and the 'bearer' of those costs. He has also asked for measures to hold companies accountable for outsourcing.
Perhaps Senator Brown is contemplating user fees for foreign inspections?
In a separate letter to Pfizer, the Senator asked about the drugmaker's annual savings through outsourcing and a list of instances where Pfizer has outsourced manufacturing due to lack of technical expertise.
That former list should be pretty short. Hopefully Pfizer will also discuss the technical expertise it provides.
What can Brown do for you?
