Rockefeller and Harkin Share "Gray Market" Role in Drug Shortages with States

December 6, 2012

Consumer Protection 2WASHINGTON, D.C.— Chairman John D. (Jay) Rockefeller IV and Senator Tom Harkin, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor & Pensions, today shared the findings of a recent joint congressional investigation into the prescription drug gray market with all State Boards of Pharmacy. The report documented how some companies take advantage of drug shortages by buying short-supply drugs and reselling them at huge markups. The practice costs consumers millions of dollars every year and raises questions about the lack of transparency and rules governing this secondary market. These questions come as additional concerns with gaps in state and federal regulatory authority surfaced after the recent fungal meningitis outbreak.