http://www.delpshopepage.org/liliy_and_burton_clash.htm

Lilly, Burton clash over drug bill

http://www.indystar.com/print/articles/8/060567-8778-095.html

Associated Press
July 25, 2003


Two major Indiana players were on opposing sides of the debate over a bill passed by the house that would let consumers import lower-cost prescription drugs.

U.S. Rep. Dan Burton, R-Ind., co-sponsored the legislation passed early Friday, while Indianapolis-based drug maker Eli Lilly & Co. is helping lead an industry lobbying campaign against importation.

The bill still faces an uncertain fate in the Senate.

Lilly says importation would stifle research and put patients at risk of receiving substandard and dangerous drugs.

Burton maintains giving consumers access to imported drugs would help control costs and expand choices, saying, "it's not about safety, it's about money."

The Republican has clashed with Lilly on other issues despite the company's large presence in the Republican's 5th District covering parts of central and northern Indiana.

He has become a lightning rod for importation critics who, among other things, have said the legislation would expand access to RU-486, the morning-after abortion pill.

Burton, a longtime abortion opponent, accuses the pharmaceutical industry of preserving a status quo of high drug prices. Burton outlined his position in a radio advertisement airing this week in
Indiana.

Lilly, meanwhile, paid for full-page ads published Sunday and Monday in newspapers in Indianapolis, Lafayette, Marion and Muncie.

An excerpt says, "If foreign prescription drug importation is legalized, Canada could easily become the gateway for counterfeit prescription drugs that could flood our state. With no guarantee of the safety, effectiveness or quality of imported prescription drugs, every patient's health will be put at risk."

Lilly spokesman Ed Sagebiel said the legislation would erode incentives to develop new drugs, leading to job losses and reduced investment at Lilly and other Indiana life sciences companies.

"That makes Rep. Burton's support of the legislation even more illogical in terms of its negative economic impact on Indiana," Sagebiel said.

He said about 6,200 Lilly employees live in Burton's district, which includes all of Grant, Hamilton, Hancock, Huntington, Miami, Tipton and Wabash counties, and parts of Howard, Johnson, Marion and Shelby counties.

Burton spokesman Nick Mutton said the congressman "believes that Eli Lilly does many good things" to develop medicines and promote health care. "However, there are a couple of areas where he believes they are at fault, and he believes they should be held accountable like anyone
else," Mutton said.

Many in Burton's district recently received a mailing by the Traditional Values Coalition. The mailing, which mentions Burton, says the importation legislation may make RU-486 "as easy to get as aspirin."

Mutton criticized attempts to link Burton with support for abortion as "ridiculous," saying the congressman has long opposed abortion. A telephone message seeking comment was left Thursday at the Traditional Values Coalition's Washington office.

Burton's support of importation marks the second recent occasion he has opposed Lilly.

Burton has fought pharmaceutical companies over proposals to reduce liability for vaccine makers, including Lilly. The company was the biggest maker of Thimerosal, a mercury-containing preservative once added to some childhood vaccines. Parents of children with autism have filed lawsuits claiming that Thimerosal caused the children to develop the disease.

Burton, who has an autistic grandson, has become an advocate. He has held committee hearings on the matter and issued three news releases on the topic in the past three months even as debate has quieted down in Congress. He also held a news conference on the topic Wednesday.

Lilly has said there was no scientific evidence linking Thimerosal to autism, a contention Burton disputes.