Byron Dorgan: “I would like to show two bottles that contained Lipitor, a drug that most of us know is a cholesterol-lowering drug.…”

“I would like to show two bottles that contained Lipitor, a drug that most of us know is a cholesterol-lowering drug. Lipitor is made by a company in a plant--in this case in Ireland--and in Ireland they put Lipitor in these two bottles, and they send the Lipitor in this bottle to Canada, and they send the Lipitor in this bottle to the United States. The difference? Well, there is no difference. It is the same pill, put in the same bottle, made by the same company, an FDA-approved drug. The difference is the United States consumer pays 65 percent more for this drug than the consumer in Canada. But it is not just Lipitor. And it is not just a plant in Ireland by this company that produces it and sends it to here and then to Canada, and charges the American consumer the highest prices. It is virtually all of the brand drugs. And in virtually every case, the American consumer is paying the highest prices for prescription drugs--the highest prices in the world. My colleague, Senator Snowe and I and many others in this Chamber-- Senator Stabenow, Senator Kennedy, Senator McCain, and so many others-- 30 Senators have introduced this legislation that allows the reimportation of FDA-approved drugs--produced in FDA-inspected plants-- allows the reimportation of those lower priced prescription drugs into this country. It allows American consumers to take advantage of the global economy by buying that FDA-approved drug where it is sold for a fraction of the price.”