Importation is off the table (again). See Measure to Allow Drug Imports Fails.The vote was 51-48 in favor (!) of the amendment, but the number fell short of the 60 votes required in the Senate so the amendment was defeated. Click here to see the roll call of votes by Senator.
I’m amazed that the amendment got a mathematical majority given last week’s letter from FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg, who wrote: "[T]here are significant safety concerns related to allowing the reimportation of non-bioequivalent products." (source)
You may recall that has Dr. Hamburg some direct familiarity with drug wholesaling.
Drug importation has been declared dead more times than a narcoleptic Jason Voorhees, so I presume we'll see this issue come back to life at some point.
