11 California Seniors Denied Access to Life-sustaining Drugs in FDA Seizure of Prescriptions at LAX

Only a week after a panel appointed by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recommended allowing the sale of known potentially harmful pain-relieving drugs as an 'acceptable risk, the agency seized a shipment of life-sustaining drugs, including Lipitor, a cholesterol-lowering prescription, intended for delivery to 11 California senior citizens. The seizure took place at Los Angeles Airport.

Los Angeles, CA (PRWEB) February 25, 2005 -- Only a week after a panel appointed by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recommended allowing the sale of known potentially harmful pain-relieving drugs as an 'acceptable risk, the agency seized a shipment of life-sustaining drugs, including Lipitor, a cholesterol-lowering prescription, intended for delivery to 11 California senior citizens. The seizure took place at Los Angeles Airport.

The shipment came from a licensed pharmacy in another country. An FDA spokesperson said the reason for the seizure was that the drugs were 'misbranded and 'unapproved, although all Lipitor is manufactured at FDA-approved facilities outside the U.S. by Pfizer, Inc.

Pfizer has been a leader in moves to restrict the access of Americans to prescriptions from any source other than US pharmacies, where prices are up to 60 percent higher than other countries.

The seizure comes at a time that bi-partisan support is growing in Congress among Representatives and Senators for legislation that will allow shipments of prescription drugs from countries outside the US. Legislation enabling such sales has been introduced in both Houses.

In a prepared statement, a spokesperson for the seniors noted that it was ironic that while the FDA was willing to cite an 'acceptable risk for such drugs as Celebrex (also manufactured by Pfizer) and Vioxx (Merck), it continues its attack upon American seniors with actions such as the California seizure of proven-safe and important drugs, a move than that can adversely affect the health and even the lives of the 11 seniors.

To claim that any prescription from a licensed, registered pharmacy that has met the regulatory standards of its country-standards that are often more stringent than in the U.S.-is unsafe is a flawed attempt by the FDA to justify its actions," says Daniel Hines, publisher of www.TodaysSeniorsNetwork.com , a leading informational web site for seniors.

Additionally, the Lipitor was manufactured at an FDA-approved facility.

The FDA continues to attempt to portray itself as a 'protector of seniors and the un- and underinsured, while at the same time, it moves to restore potentially damaging drugs to the market with decisions that could endanger lives, and that are of benefit primarily to large pharmaceutical companies."

The seniors whose prescriptions were seized have regularly ordered their drugs from a licensed pharmacy outside the U.S., Hines noted.

These 11 elderly people turned to sources other than in this country because they had to make difficult choices forced by the extreme-pricing practices of companies such as Pfizer," Hines noted. In so doing, they have established client-provider relationships based upon trust, professionalism and reliability, as well as cost.

In its mission statement, the FDA notes that it is responsible for advancing the public health by helping to speed innovations that make medicines and foods more effective, safer, and more affordable," Hines said.

It is time for the FDA to fulfill that part of its mission. A good first step would be to return the life-sustaining prescription drugs it seized at the Los Angeles Airport--drugs manufactured at FDA-approved facilities-to the seniors they have endangered."

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