Giuliani hired by drug industry

Publisher's Note:  Former NY Mayor Giuliani is following the path of others who have served the large pharmaceutical manufacturers--the road to easy riches, large fees and lackey for the drug companies.  In so doing, he joins former Congressman Tauzin (see our story on how the former Representative stood ready to gain a $2 million dollar salary from the Pharmaceutical industry as a reward for  his work on the flawed Medicare Prescription Drug Card, but then backed down in the face of public pressure...click here).  Perhaps the Mayor, who made his reputation for leadership in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 tragedy in New York will also be a consultant for his new business associates in helping them clean their own  house--read about the pharma law suits and more than $19 billion in fines and settlements, click here--or perhaps he will talk to respected seniors' leaders such as Gary Passmore of the California Congress of Seniors who called Canadian pharmacies safer than those in the US...click here for story.  But, we doubt it.  It seems that there was another victim of the 9-11 attacks--the opportunity for leadership with integrity that the former Mayor has squandered.

August 19, 2004, Washington, DC-- Hired by a drug industry trade group, New York 's former Mayor Rudolph Giuliani is preparing a final report that underscores the group's argument that importing drugs from Canada poses safety risks.

Giuliani, still a high-profile national figure since leaving office in 2001, has been making the rounds in Washington , submitting a preliminary report on the safety of imported drugs to federal health officials this spring and testifying before two Senate committees this summer.

Some health experts say the former federal prosecutor's role is an attempt to add credibility to claims by pharmaceutical companies and federal drug officials that importing medicines from Canada is unsafe and potentially opens the door for counterfeit drugs. Congress is weighing several measures to legalize the importation of drugs from Canada .

But supporters of importation legislation say Giuliani is a "hired gun" for money-hungry drug companies who don't want the competition.

"They want to have a popular spokesman, but he's in the business of taking money to serve his clients," said Michael Burgess, director of the New York State Alliance for Retired Americans, which sponsored a bus trip for seniors to Montreal last month to buy cheaper prescription drugs. "You have to look at who is paying him."

Early this year, Giuliani's security consulting firm, Giuliani Partners LLC, was hired by the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), the powerful drug industry trade group based in Washington , to investigate health risks of importing drugs from foreign countries. PhRMA will not say how much it paid Giuliani's firm.

PhRMA officials say Giuliani, a Republican who will have a key role at the upcoming convention in New York , was hired because of his investigative skills and his widely recognized expertise on security. They also point to his leadership after the Sept. 11 attacks.

"Folks on both sides of the aisle respect him for his leadership," said Court Rosen, a PhRMA spokesman. "I don't think it's a partisan issue."

Richard Himelfarb, a political scientist at Hofstra University , called PhRMA's hiring of Giuliani a "touch of brilliance. When it comes to issues of security and safety Rudy is Teflon."

Officials at Giuliani's firm say he has a background in investigations and a reputation for integrity and thoroughness. "When you package all these things ... what he has to say is worth listening to," said Dennison Young, a managing director at the firm.

Supporters of importation acknowledge Giuliani's expertise on security but question how objective he can be when his client has a clear mission.

"It's pretty clear that he's going to spin all of his findings toward the agenda of his client," said David MacKay, executive director of the Canadian International Pharmacy Association, a trade group.

Giuliani submitted a May interim report to a federal task force also looking into the safety of importing drugs from Canada . Giuliani also testified about the report before a Senate subcommittee and the Senate Judiciary Committee. A final report is expected in about a month.

Meanwhile, several states and cities have turned to Canada to buy drugs. But Giuliani's report warns against such moves.

States and cities "have to approach this with great caution, given what we now know," said Young, who spoke on the firm's behalf. "This should not become a political issue."

Giuliani's report found that many drugs are not "reimported" from Canada , meaning made in FDA-approved sites in the United States and then shipped back. In many cases, the report said, those medications are manufactured in countries such as Pakistan or China .

The report also said there is "significant evidence" of customers getting expired or counterfeit drugs.

Giuliani's report also found flaws in the U.S. drug system, namely that there is minimal federal oversight.

"The more we gather information the clearer it becomes that this is a serious problem that the United States will have to address," Young said.

While MacKay credits Giuliani for pointing out flaws with America 's system, he disputes findings about the safety of drugs shipped from Canada saying much of the findings rely on an earlier faulty study and make generalities based on drugs from other countries.

Giuliani's role will probably not have much of an impact on the debate, said Robert Goldberg, a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, a think tank. "As a study alone it will not blunt the political momentum," he said.