California Life Sciences Association (CLSA) Responds to Administration’s Drug Importation Plan

Administration’s plan to allow for the importation of foreign drugs is unworkable, compromises the health and safety of Americans

WASHINGTON & SAN FRANCISCO & SAN DIEGO–(BUSINESS WIRE)–#DrugImportation—California Life Sciences Association (CLSA), the trade association representing California’s life sciences sector, issued the following statement in response to the Trump Administration’s drug importation proposal unveiled today. This statement can be attributed to Mike Guerra, President & CEO, CLSA:

“The Trump Administration’s plan to allow for the importation of foreign drugs is unworkable, compromises the health and safety of Americans, and won’t bring savings to patients’ pocketbooks. Former top officials from both Republican and Democratic Presidential Administrations have previously warned about safety concerns related to and the inability of federal agencies, such as FDA, CMS, DEA and FBI, to conduct adequate oversight of drug importation. Unfortunately, this flawed proposal takes a step in the wrong direction. Instead of pursuing a faulty plan that could exacerbate drug shortages worldwide, we should work to cap out-of-pocket costs so that patients have more predictability and are able to afford the treatments they need.

“On behalf of California’s life sciences sector, a vibrant ecosystem working to develop thousands of safe and effective new treatments to help patients, we urge the Administration to abandon this flawed proposal that could compromise patient safety. We will also work diligently with our bipartisan California Congressional delegation to educate them on the shortcomings of this plan.”

Click here to read the proposal.

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About California Life Sciences Association (CLSA)

California Life Sciences Association (CLSA) is the state’s largest and most influential life sciences advocacy and business leadership organization. With offices in Sacramento, San Diego, South San Francisco, Los Angeles and Washington DC, CLSA works closely with industry, government, academia and others to shape public policy, improve access to innovative technologies and grow California’s life sciences economy. CLSA serves biotechnology, pharmaceutical, medical device and diagnostics companies, research universities and institutes, investors and service providers throughout the Golden State. CLSA was founded in 2015 when the Bay Area Bioscience Association (BayBio) and the California Healthcare Institute (CHI) merged. Visit CLSA at www.califesciences.org, and follow us on Twitter @CALifeSciences, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube.

Contacts

California Life Sciences Association (CLSA)

Will Zasadny | Director, Communications

[email protected] | 619-961-8848