The FDA just cleared the way for drug importation. What now?

Key Facts

“Colorado is encouraged by the approval of Florida’s plan for prescription drug importation and strongly urges the FDA to swiftly approve Colorado’s Canadian Importation application, which will provide lower-cost access to medications,” said Colorado Gov. Jared Polis in a statement to POLITICO on Friday.
Health officials in Texas, which just passed a drug importation law last summer, similarly lauded the FDA’s decision and said that the state plans to submit its own application to federal officials in the “near future.”
“Both Biden and to a smaller degree [former President Donald] Trump can claim some level of credit on this, but it doesn’t change the broader dynamic on prescription drugs where Biden has a huge advantage on that fight,” Leopold said.
“And, what is more, full implementation is likely to raise more safety concerns than cost savings” Further, one policy expert who has worked with FDA and pharmaceutical companies said that although the decision could seem like an initial advocacy defeat for drugmakers, “they always find ways to make it not so bad or not bad at all.”