Sept. 23, 2004 -- An executive from the nation's largest pharmaceutical company says his industry is dishonestly scaring the public over the safety of imported drugs, equating them with tobacco executives who lied to Congress about the addictiveness of nicotine.

Peter Rost, MD, a vice president of Pfizer Inc., made the statements as supporters of a bill allowing importation of lower-cost drugs from other industrialized countries try to apply pressure for its passage in Congress.

Drug companies have strongly opposed the move, arguing that U.S. regulators could not guarantee the safety and quality of drugs brought in from other countries. But Rost counters that European countries have used importation safely for 20 years and that drugmakers will "say anything" to prevent cheaper drugs from entering the U.S. market.

"I believe we have to speak out in favor of people who can't afford drugs," says Rost, Pfizer's vice president of marketing for endocrine drugs. Rost tells reporters on Capitol Hill that he appeared as a private citizen and was not representing his employers.

Americans routinely pay substantially more for prescription medications than do patients in Canada and other countries. Importing prescriptions remains illegal in the U.S., though the government largely turns a blind eye to individual patients who buy no more than a 90-day supply at a time.

Support for a legal importation system has grown on Capitol Hill, where the House of Representatives has already passed a bill allowing FDA-approved drugs to be imported from Canada and other countries. But a similar bill has not seen a vote in the Senate.

Supporters wrote to Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) Thursday urging him to find time before the November elections to schedule a promised vote.

Drugmakers staunchly oppose opening U.S. borders to the drugs, citing safety concerns. That view has been echoed by Bush administration regulators. In August, FDA Acting Chief Lester Crawford suggested that Islamic terrorists could use imported drugs to poison Americans.

Rost says inflated U.S. drug prices have "a high, high cost" and prevent millions of patients from getting the drugs they need.

Drug companies' reputations are suffering among Americans, most of whom do not find them much more trustworthy than tobacco makers, he argues. "I also speak out to try to wake up the drug companies because they're certainly not helping themselves right now."

Pfizer Responds

Pfizer says that Rost has no expertise in drug importation issues and that he has ignored his company's extensive research and government testimony on safety.

"Dr. Rost has no qualifications to speak on importation, no responsibilities in this area at Pfizer, no knowledge of the information and analysis Pfizer has provided to the government on this issue, and no substantive grasp of how importation may impact the safety of this nation's drug supply," Chuck Hardwick, the company's senior vice president for worldwide government and public affairs, wrote in a letter to Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.) Wednesday.

Hardwick wrote that importation proposals would "open up a tightly regulated system to a new drug distribution channel in which virtually every participant operates outside the law."

Thursday was not the first time Rost has spoken out in favor of drug importation in opposition to his company and his industry. He has not suffered any repercussions from Pfizer so far but does not know if he will, he says.

"It's hard to predict the future. I'll find out when I go back," says Rost, who took vacation time to come to Washington to appear with lawmakers.