Press Releases
NH Delegation Asks Canadian Health Minister to Help Fight Prescription Drug AbuseDelegation Urges Increased Cooperation between Canadian and U.S. governments
Washington, DC,
March 7, 2016
U.S. Senators Kelly Ayotte and Jeanne Shaheen and Representatives Frank Guinta and Annie Kuster, along with a bipartisan group of members from both chambers of Congress, today asked Canada’s Minister of Health Dr. Jane Philpott to help fight prescription drug abuse in both countries by limiting the availability of non-abuse deterrent opioids, including oxycodone pain relievers. Their letter comes as Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is set to visit the United States this week. The letter was also signed by Senators Richard Burr (R-NC) and Steve Daines (R-MT) and Representatives Kevin Cramer (R-ND), Suzan DelBene (D-WA), Brian Higgins (D-NY), Bill Huizenga (R-MI), Elise Stefanik (R-NY), and Peter Welch (D-VT). “In our states and in Canada, prescription drug abuse is negatively impacting the quality of life of millions of citizens, costing lives, and presenting significant challenges to our first responders and law enforcement officials,” the lawmakers wrote. “It is concerning to us that, as you know, Canada still permits the manufacture and sale of non-abuse deterrent formulations of oxycodone pain relievers, and these drugs continue to find their way across the border to every region and almost every state in the United States.” “It is our strong belief that you now have an excellent opportunity to address this urgent matter by proposing a more robust series of measures than those that were contemplated in the original regulatory package. To that end we respectfully urge you to consider accelerating the timetable for the removal of non-abuse deterrent formulations of oxycodone pain relievers from the Canadian marketplace.” The full text of the letter is below. Dear Dr. Philpott: As you begin your tenure as Minister of Health, we would like to bring to your attention an urgent matter of public health and safety that is harming both of our countries. In our states and in Canada, prescription drug abuse is negatively impacting the quality of life of millions of citizens, costing lives, and presenting significant challenges to our first responders and law enforcement officials. That is why we write to respectfully request that Health Canada and the Canadian government work with its partners in the American government, including the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), to combat the abuse of prescription drugs. Specifically, we ask that Canada and the United States better coordinate efforts surrounding the development and availability of abuse-deterrent formulations of opioid pain relievers. Prescription drug abuse has become an extremely vexing matter that affects millions of American citizens, their families, and loved ones. We are also aware that it is a similarly problematic issue in Canada. Like their American counterparts, we are certain that Canadian health officials and public safety officials believe that this public health epidemic requires urgent and ongoing attention from officials in both of our countries. In the United States, our efforts to address this pressing challenge seek to strike a careful balance between the imperative to prevent abuse, misuse and diversion of prescription drugs and the need to ensure reasonable access to opioid pain relievers for patients with legitimate pain management needs. In 2001, the U.S. Administration issued a Prescription Drug Abuse Plan in order to provide policy support for achieving these goals. The Plan created a national framework to improve education for patients and health care providers, strengthen state-based prescription drug monitoring programs (PDMPs), expand convenient and environmentally responsible medication disposal methods, and reduce the prevalence of pill mills and doctor shopping through additional enforcement efforts. The Plan also highlighted the need for the development of abuse-deterrent formulations of opioid medications because the tamper resistant versions of these powerful drugs make it more difficult to crush or liquefy tablets in a manner that facilitates abuse which all too frequently results in tragic consequences, including death. Accordingly, the Plan called on the FDA to provide guidance to the pharmaceutical industry on the development of abuse-deterrent drug formulations and on post-market assessment of drug safety and efficacy. In implementing this policy, the FDA has approved six abuse deterrent medications in the prescription opioid space. Despite the issuance of the Plan in 2001, much more remains to be done. It is concerning to us that, as you know, Canada still permits the manufacture and sale of non-abuse deterrent formulations of oxycodone pain relievers, and these drugs continue to find their way across the border to every region and almost every state in the United States. Suffice to say that cross border leakage of non-abuse deterrent oxycodone products exacerbates the prescription drug abuse problem in the U.S. with all its attendant societal costs. Recognizing our common border and the fact that prescription drug abuse afflicts both our populations, we sought to work collaboratively with your predecessors to share relevant information and, where practical, to develop common regulatory rules and standards. This past summer, Health Canada released for public comment its own draft regulations in this policy area. However, it is our understanding that the recent Canadian election had the effect of rendering those regulatory proposals dormant. As a consequence, it is our strong belief that you now have an excellent opportunity to address this urgent matter by proposing a more robust series of measures than those that were contemplated in the original regulatory package. To that end we respectfully urge you to consider accelerating the timetable for the removal of non-abuse deterrent formulations of oxycodone pain relievers from the Canadian marketplace. We believe it is in the best interests of both Canada and the United States to coordinate efforts around these issues, and we look forward to working with you and your colleagues to address this critically important issue. Congratulations on your new role and responsibilities and please do not hesitate to contact us directly should you wish to further discuss this important public health matter. ### |