Fwd: Life Extension Members Defeat The Behemoth

[Guest guest]

As a Life Extension Foundation member, I received this e-mail this morning

and thought it might be of some interest to all of you, seeing that the

whole pharmaceutical industry is of such an interest to all of us. Just

thought you might be interested to see some of the things that the LEF is up

against all the time. It really has nothing to do with LDN per se, just

thought you might find it interesting. It's all about money isn't it? Joyce.

From: Life Extension Foundation <LifeExtension@...>

Reply-<10624-feedback-293@...>

List Member <wkendz32@...>

Subject: Life Extension Members Defeat The Behemoth

Date: Fri, 25 Jul 2003 15:08:59 -0700

Life Extension Defeats The Behemoth: House Votes To Allow Importation of

Lower-Priced Prescription Drugs

Dear Life Extension Supporters,

Two days ago, everyone we talked to on Capitol Hill said there was NO chance

the drug importation bill (H.R. 2427: The Pharmaceutical Market Access Act

of 2003) would pass the House of Representatives.

Today--July 25--right before the House vote, I was told that there were so

many drug lobbyists on Capitol Hill urging Representatives to defeat this

bill that the lobbyists were standing in line to get into Congressional

offices.

The pharmaceutical industry made it appear that everyone was against the

right of Americans to purchase lower cost medications from other countries.

The Wall Street Journal wrote an editorial against it, the FDA said it would

open the floodgates to dangerous drugs, and even some religious groups went

into overdrive to oppose it.

The drug lobby even induced Reverend Jerry Falwell to publish a vicious and

slanderous attack against The Life Extension Foundation for supporting this

bill. (Look forward to a fierce rebuttal to Jerry Falwell's baseless

allegations against LEF very soon at www.lef.org.)

Eight days after Falwell's editorial appeared in The Washington Times

newspaper, an FDA agent showed up at Life Extension’s facilities. A

seven-day intrusive inspection commenced that distracted our legal team from

following the bill. This is why you were sent, at the last minute, the

emergency email urging you to call, email or fax your Congressional

Representative to support the bill.

The incredible news is that The Pharmaceutical Market Access Act of 2003

passed the House early this morning by a margin of 243 to 186. We, the

people, defeated the drug industry's mammoth multimillion dollar attempt to

keep this consumer-based legislation from passing.

Life Extension believes the drug lobby induced the FDA to initiate this

inspection for the purpose of finding a way to destroy our organization. The

drug cartel views The Life Extension Foundation as a threat to their profits

and has demonstrated--through Jerry Falwell--how far they will go to

discredit us.

Life Extension is preparing a detailed response to the FDA's assertions that

we may not be allowed to relate the findings of peer-reviewed published

studies (e.g., that folic acid reduces homocysteine levels) to our members.

The FDA inspector even indicated that the agency might not allow our medical

doctors to discuss this type of information when members call to ask

questions about their blood test results. Life Extension has retained First

Amendment attorney Jonathon Emord to initiate litigation against the FDA to

protect our right to communicate truthful and legitimate information, as we

have always done.

This bill now faces an uphill battle in the Senate, which is more heavily

influenced by massive pharmaceutical company campaign contributions and

lobbying. I am asking each of you to log on to www.senate.gov to obtain the

names and addresses of your two Senators. Please handwrite, type or copy

them a personalized letter along the following lines:

The Honorable Senator___________

Washington, D.C. 20510

The crisis of costly healthcare can be mitigated if Americans are allowed to

import lower-priced, identical FDA approved drugs from other countries. On

July 25, the House passed the Pharmaceutical Market Access Act of 2003

(H.R.2427) by a margin of 243 to 186. This bill has strict safety standards

in place that will ensure imported prescription drugs as safe as those I buy

from my local pharmacy.

This prescription drug importation bill will soon be introduced in the

Senate. I insist that you put your full support behind it, despite the

intensive and deceptive lobbying efforts you will encounter.

This is my first letter to notify you how important this issue is to me. I

understand that the Senate may be voting on this in September, and I will

write you again to encourage you to vote for the Senate version of this

House bill that will enable Americans to access lower-priced medications

that have similar safety standards of this country from other countries.

Please let me know what your position on this drug import bill is now, as I

would welcome the opportunity to clarify why it is so important that this

bill pass the Senate as well.

Sincerely,

Name:

Address:

City:

State Zip

Life Extension is risking its future by taking on the behemoth drug cartel.

Please take the time to write to your two Senators now, and again in

September. The upcoming October issue of Life Extension magazine that you

will receive in September will contain an in-depth update as to the status

of this bill in the Senate.

I want to personally thank everyone who phoned, faxed and/or emailed their

Congressional Representative. Your efforts have paid off big time. For those

who did not contact their Congressional representative, you now have the

opportunity to speak out for your rights by writing to your two Senators.

You can follow the progress of this bill by logging on to www.lef.org

regularly.

Together in Victory,

Faloon

Life Extension Foundation Buyers Club

Following is the House action summary on this H.R.2427

H.R.2427

Title: To authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services to promulgate

regulations for the reimportation of prescription drugs, and for other

purposes.

Sponsor: Rep Gutknecht, Gil [MN-1] (introduced 6/11/2003) Cosponsors:

53

Related Bills: H.RES.335

Latest Major Action: 7/25/2003 Passed/agreed to in House. Status: On passage

Passed by recorded vote: 243 - 186 (Roll no. 445).

Jul 25, 7:58 AM EDT

House OKs Importation of Lower-Cost Drugs

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The House approved legislation early Friday allowing

Americans to purchase prescription medicine abroad, voting 243-186 after a

clash that pitted the hope of lower prices against the fear of counterfeit

drugs.

The vote marked a defeat for the pharmaceutical industry, which spends

millions lobbying Congress, and was repeatedly criticized by lawmakers in

both parties for putting profits ahead of patients.

" It's not about safety, it's about money, " said conservative Rep. Dan

Burton, R-Ind., practically hissing the word. " There's a woman ... who's

dying of breast cancer, " he added. " ... How do you tell her when she goes to

buy tamoxifen that she can't afford it but she could go right across the

border to Canada and get it for one sixth or one seventh the cost. "

" The country is going to be flooded with unsafe pharmaceutical counterfeits,

over-age pharmaceuticals, pharmaceuticals that don't preserve and protect

the safety of our citizens, " countered Rep. Dingell, a Michigan

Democrat who has long worked on drug issues.

The vote sent the bill to the Senate, and House supporters hoped it would be

incorporated, as well, in any final compromise on Medicare prescription drug

legislation.

But the chances of that appeared to dim even as the debate unfolded on the

House floor, when 53 senators announced their opposition to any change in

the current law, which allows the Secretary of Health and Human Services to

decide whether importation would be safe.

Among those signing a letter on the issue were Sens. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah,

and Don Nickles, R-Okla., both of whom are part of the group hoping to craft

a final Medicare bill this fall.

Congress has approved legislation twice before dealing with the drug

importation issue, but both times said the secretary of the Department of

Health and Human Services would first have to certify that the drugs would

be safe. Neither Donna Shalala, who served under former President Clinton,

nor Tommy , who holds office under President Bush, was willing to do

so.

This time, the bill backed by Republican Reps. Gil Gutknecht of Minnesota,

Rep. Jo Ann Emerson of Missouri and Democratic Rep. Rahm Emanuel of

Illinois, ordered HHS to set up a system to allow importation of

FDA-approved drugs from FDA-approved facilities in Canada, the European

Union and seven other nations.

The measure also would require imported medicine to be shipped in

anti-tampering and anti-counterfeiting packaging.

Even so, the Bush administration issued a statement calling the bill

" dangerous legislation. " And FDA Commissioner Mark McClellan said the

measure " creates a wide channel for large volumes of unapproved drugs and

other products to enter the United States that are potentially injurious to

public health and pose a threat to the security of our nation's drug

supply. "

The vote crossed the customary party and ideological lines in the House.

There were 155 Democrats, 87 Republicans and 1 independent in favor, and 45

Democrats and 141 Republicans opposed.

The vote capped an emotional debate, supporters repeatedly referring to

cancer victims who must pay more for medicine at home than they would in

Canada or Germany, and opponents warning of drugs that look legitimate, but

are worthless, or even hazardous.

Gutknecht held up two packages of the drug tamoxifen, used to combat breast

cancer. " Why is it that Americans have to spend $260 for this life-saving

drug when Germans can buy it for $60, " he said.

But Rep. W.J. Tauzin, R-La., countered by showing the website of a Canadian

prescription drug house. He said FDA officials had purchased anti-seizure

medication from the company, but found it was made in India, not Canada. " It

is water inside this package, " he said.

The measure had wide appeal to consumers - thousands of whom have ridden in

buses to Canada in recent years to buy lower-cost drugs. And several

lawmakers accused the drug industry of merely trying to protect its own

profits. Liberal Rep. Bernard , I-Vt., said it had spread " lies,

lies, and lies again " in an effort to kill the bill.

" We do believe there is a safety problem, " said Mark Grayson, a spokesman

for the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, known as

PhRMA. He also said the legislation would import the system of price

controls that foreign government impose on drugs.

He said he didn't know how much the group was spending to defeat the bill,

adding, " We don't discuss that. "

The pharmaceutical industry made more than $20 million in political

contributions in the past election, with roughly $8 of every $10 going to

Republicans, according to an analysis by the Center for Responsive Politics.

PhRMA itself gave more than $3 million and spent more than $14 million

lobbying Congress on various issues last year. In addition, the organization

gave millions last year to an organization that aired television commercials

on behalf of candidates who backed a GOP-written prescription drug bill.

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