Pfizer exec defends drug imports

WASHINGTON, Sept. 23 (UPI) -- A Pfizer executive spoke out Thursday in Washington in favor of drug imports to make drugs more accessible to poorer people.

"We have to speak out for the people who can't afford drugs," Peter Rost, vice-president of marketing at the giant drug company, told a news conference on Capitol Hill.

Rost was accompanied by several members of Congress.

The Food and Drug Administration mandates all drugs sold in the United States be approved by a standard process in order to ensure their safety and effectiveness. But the agency does not regulate foreign drugs.

Proponents said drug importation is no longer a safety issue, but rather is about artificially inflated U.S. prices.

Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, demanded the U.S. government "stop making excuses and using safety to hide behind."

"It is time for companies to stop scaring the American public" by saying imported drugs are not safe, said Snowe, who is sponsoring legislation to allow drug imports from countries where drugs are cheaper.

Advocates say the United States will be saving tens of billions of dollars, but others, including the Heritage Foundation, said prices will not decrease in the United States as much as they will increase overseas.