Bid to allow drug imports advances - Los Angeles Times

From the Los Angeles Times:
The Senate, giving a boost to a measure long favored by congressional Democrats, opened the door Thursday to letting American consumers save money on prescription medicines by ordering them from Canada and other developed countries where prices are lower.

But the move could have an unintended side effect — derailing a long-awaited, bipartisan effort to improve the Food and Drug Administration's faltering system for protecting patients from potentially dangerous medications. The reform plan includes increased funding for drug safety and the creation of a nationwide computer surveillance system designed to spot problems with medications.

The proposed improvements were developed in response to highly publicized safety lapses, including the belated withdrawal of the diabetes drug Rezulin and the painkiller Vioxx. ...more