Senate blocks drugs bill

WASHINGTON – Prescription drug prices in the United States probably will remain among the highest in the world.

Overseas, brand-name prescription drugs can cost two-thirds less than they do in the United States. In many industrialized countries, prices are lower because they are either controlled or partially controlled by government regulation.

Lawmakers have pushed for years to allow drug imports, saying they would drive down prices in the U.S. Experts disagree by just how much, however.

Consumers won’t have a chance to find out. The Senate on Monday killed a bid to allow competition from lower-priced imports.

In a triumph for the pharmaceutical industry, the Senate, on a 49-40 vote, neutralized the latest push to allow drug imports. The measure required the administration to certify the safety and effectiveness of imported drugs before they can be brought into the country. That’s something officials have said they cannot do.

“Well, once again the big drug companies have proved that they are the most powerful and best financed lobby in Washington,” said Sen. David Vitter, a Louisiana Republican.

The vote nullified a second amendment, later passed on a voice vote, that would legalize the importation of prescription drugs manufactured in Canada, Australia, Europe, Japan and New Zealand.

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., called the certification amendment, introduced by Sen. Thad Cochran, R-Miss., a “poison pill” for the drug-imports legislation.

Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., acknowledged it nullified his bid to allow the purchase of drugs abroad.

“This is a setback for us. But the drug industry is one of the strongest industries in this town,” Dorgan said.

Republican lawmakers said the requirement for a safety certification was essential to protect the public.