Lowering prescription drug prices with imports

By Dr Nicola Davies

The high and rising cost of prescription drugs in the United States remains a concern for patients, physicians, payers, and policy makers. It is also a key priority for the US Food and Drug Administration, the Trump administration, and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

The FDA has worked to implement a number of strategies in recent years to increase generic drug transparency and competition. While the importation of drugs from foreign countries has been considered a potential solution to international disparities in prescription drug costs, the FDA has voiced its concerns, which include safety risks and a lack of regulatory oversight.1