State Representative Tom Leek (R-Ormand Beach) spoke with The Floridian regarding his bill that has finally gone into effect after nearly five years since its passage.
The bill, HB 19 – Prescription Drug Importation Programs – was sponsored by State Rep. Leek and was signed by Governor Ron DeSantis (R-FL) in 2019.
State Rep. Leek’s legislation allows the state to import drugs from foreign nations at a lower cost as long as the pharmaceuticals are Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved.
The FDA officially approved this program after five years of waiting at the beginning of the year, but Leek isn’t receiving any of the credit for it.
“It was 2019. The first thing I remember is, you’ve never been in a fight ‘til you’ve been in a fight with Big Pharma. So, I’ve got the scars to prove it … The other thing that always got me is if you look at the career trajectory of anybody significant in the FDA, they start, they work their way up in the agency. And it always ends with a job with some pharma company somewhere. And so, I just never thought that we should allow an agency to circumvent the legislative intent or the legislative policy that was properly enacted. and that’s precisely what was happening,” said Leek.
He continued by stating that he was excited to bring change to the way the FDA operates for the benefit of his constituents and fellow Floridians.
“When the opportunity came to run the Prescription Drug Importation Bill, I jumped at it because I thought this was the right thing to do. It’ll have the impact of lowering costs for individuals and buying prescription drugs.”
Furthermore, Leek recalled his experience of dealing with those from Big Pharma attempting to lobby against the bill, saying he was initially told that the bill wouldn’t go anywhere even as those against the legislation attempted to “pack the room” with testimonies as the bill gained more steam.
“When I filed the bill, I had a couple of folks come and talk to me on the pharma side, and basically they’re patting me on the head and said in the future, it’s not going anywhere. And then we passed the first committee and you know, it went from two to about half a dozen people coming to see me, and by the time we got to the final committee stop, they had packed the room with these horrific stories of mothers talking about their kids who had bought drugs off the internet laced with fentanyl which was horrific.
“But it didn’t have anything to do with the legislation that was in front of them. Our bill has nothing to do with the purchase of illicit drugs laced with fentanyl off the internet. That’s still illegal under this bill,” said Rep. Leek.
When asked why the FDA finally pushed this bill through five years later, Leek said, “It’s an election year.”
