Reimportation of Prescription Drugs

Reimportation is defined as the importation of goods back into a country from which they had previously been exported. With respect to reimportation of prescription drugs, this becomes a complex and highly controversial issue.

At the heart of the reimportation issue is a conflict of interest between the consumer and the pharmaceutical company. The pharmaceutical company sells its products both at home and abroad. In some cases, perhaps due to a fixed-price subsidized market in another country, the drug is now sold for less in the other country than it sells for at home. The consumer sees the identical product on sale in another country for less than he pays now and seeks to import the lower-priced drug.