Charging that the federal government is dragging its feet despite assurances from President Joe Biden, Gov. Ron DeSantis and Attorney General Ashley Moodyannounced Florida is suing the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to let Florida import some prescription drugs from Canada.
The Governor, Attorney General and others complained in a news conference in Lakeland that the FDA is holding up approval of Florida’s application that now has been pending for more than 630 days.
“This has been a frustrating process from the macro to the micro. My team and I have had so many meetings with the FDA it’s not even funny. But all we’ve gotten is word salad,” said Agency for Health Care Administration Secretary Simone Marstiller.
The frustration is over an application the DeSantis administration filed with the FDA in late 2020 — when former President Donald Trump was still in office — to allow a limited number of lower-priced Canadian prescribed drugs to be shipped to Florida to be distributed through state agencies.
DeSantis and Marstiller said the program could save up to $150 million a year in costs on those drugs, as the same products are being sold in the United States for twice or more of what they cost through Canada.