Released on: June 17, 2008, 7:16 am

Press Release Author: Partnership for Safe Medicines

Industry: Government

Press Release Summary: Partnership for Safe Medicines urges Congress to address the
vulnerabilities threatening the safety of prescription drugs

Press Release Body:
WASHINGTON (June 17, 2008) - The Partnership for Safe Medicines, a group of
organizations and individuals dedicated to protect consumers from counterfeit
medicines, issued the following statement regarding today\'s Senate Judiciary
Committee hearing on "Protecting Consumers by Protecting Intellectual Property."

The Partnership for Safe Medicines applauds the Committee for recognizing that
enforcement of intellectual property (IP) laws are an important way to combat the
sale of unsafe or substandard products, such as counterfeit pharmaceuticals. Time
and time again, we have seen imitations of FDA- approved drugs contaminated with
harmful or unsafe materials, as well as counterfeits containing nonstandard amounts
of active ingredients that affect the integrity of the medication.

One of the Partnership's core principles for drugs safety is that we must unify in
the fight against counterfeit drugs. We believe the United States needs to be a
leader in this global fight. We must advocate for better cooperation between
government agencies here within the United States, as well as with our counterparts
around the world, in order to prosecute the unscrupulous counterfeiters who do not
hesitate to use foreign, even toxic, materials in their products.

Counterfeit drugs defraud consumers and deny ill patients therapies that can
alleviate suffering and save lives. The harm and fatalities from counterfeit and
contraband medicines must stop.
The Partnership supports increasing criminal penalties against the perpetrators of
counterfeit medicines to reflect the gravity of their offenses. Additionally, we
endorse granting the FDA the authority to destroy unapproved drugs entering the
United States rather than returning them to the criminals who sent them here.

If we truly want to avoid another deadly incident of failed drug safety, we urge
Congress to take this opportunity to further address the vulnerabilities threatening
the safety of our prescription drugs. To learn more about how we can protect our
supply chain, regulate online pharmacies, fight counterfeit drugs and other
principles of drug safety, please visit SafeMedicines.org-because counterfeit drugs
are unsafe at any cost.

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About the Partnerships for Safe Medicines
The Partnership for Safe Medicines is a group of organizations and individuals that
have policies, procedures, or programs to protect consumers from counterfeit or
contraband medicines. To join us in our stand against counterfeit drugs or obtain
your own copy of the Principles for Drug Safety doctrine, please visit
www.SafeMedicines.org.


Web Site: http://www.SafeMedicines.org

Contact Details: Contact: Deborah J. Danuser, 202-742-5256, Deborah@JonesPA.com