[This post relates to a case titled PharmacyChecker.com v. the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy et al., in which PharmacyChecker alleges an unlawful “conspiracy involving front groups for Big Pharma” that keep “lower priced drugs out of reach of millions of Americans.” Just recently, a federal judge in New York’s southern district granted the defendants summary judgment. This case is also occurring in a federal court in Oregon against LegitScript, a company that was dismissed from the case in New York on personal jurisdiction grounds.].
I disagree with the decision of the court in New York to grant the Defendants’ motion for summary judgment in the matter of PharmacyChecker.com v. the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy, et al (Alliance for Safe Online Pharmacies, Center for Safe Internet Pharmacies, and the Partnership for Safe Medicines). According to a statement on its website, PharmacyChecker is appealing the decision.
From the outset, it’s important to remind observers of what PharmacyChecker does and does not do: PharmacyChecker provides critical online pharmacy verification and drug price comparison information that helps people worldwide find the safest international online pharmacies, and, in the case of people in the U.S., it also helps them find low prices at local pharmacies, but it has no role in the actual ordering or importation of prescription drugs.
Further, it’s important for people to know that research and data have consistently shown that properly informed consumers can safely order more affordable prescription drugs from credentialed online pharmacies, which they import for personal use. It’s a lifeline of affordability for patients who can’t afford medication locally. That research has identified PharmacyChecker as a company that properly credentials online pharmacies.
Respectfully, in my view, the Court did not appreciate the degree to which Federal law and public policy support personal drug importation so that Americans can better afford prescription drugs. This issue is one that PharmacyChecker can argue on appeal.
Lastly, and from the heart, I’m a middle age law student and an advocate for online access to safe and affordable medicine who has focused on this for 20 years. I’m very disappointed in this decision, but I’m also excited: I believe that, in the end, this will go the right way for PharmacyChecker and for patients in America and worldwide who can’t afford their medications locally.
Along those lines, please consider signing the Brussels Principles on the Sale of Medicine over the Internet, which recognizes that access to affordable prescription drugs is a human right and that patients worldwide should be able to use the Internet to safely import their medications, especially when they have no other choice.
[Disclaimer: I do not speak on behalf of PharmacyChecker but will share my opinions moving forward in a personal and advisory capacity here on policyprescription.com].
