Some of the nation's largest pharmaceutical companies are praising a bill by Rep. Jim Matheson, D-Utah, designed to help combat counterfeit drugs.

"This comprehensive bipartisan legislation would create a uniform, national requirement for the tracking and tracing of prescription medicines from the manufacturer, through the distributor, to the pharmacy," said Ron Bone, senior vice president of McKesson Corp., North America's largest pharmaceutical distributor.

In testimony to the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health, Bone said the Healthcare Distribution Management Association endorses the Supporting America's Pharmaceuticals Act by Matheson and Rep. Steve Buyer, R-Ind.

"We believe that a track-and-trace system will also produce business efficiencies and decrease costs" and ensure that drugs are safe and not fake, he said.

In written testimony submitted to the committee, Billy Tauzin, president and CEO of the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, also praised the bill. He said PhRMA "appreciates the thoughtful and phased process set out in the bill to apply anti-counterfeiting technologies."

Janet Woodcock, director of the Food and Drug Administration's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, also testified that establishing a "chain of custody is imperative in order to provide transparency and accountability" and keep the drug supply chain safe.

Matheson said, "People need to know that when they take a prescribed pill it is real, undiluted and not laced with any phony ingredients."

His bill comes after some major scares from counterfeit or fake and unsafe drugs.

For example in 2003, 200,000 bottles of Lipitor (a cholesterol-lowering drug) were recalled when they were believed to be fake. Previously, 110,000 bottles of counterfeit Epogen and Procrit (used to boost blood production in people with cancer or kidney disease) made their way into the marketplace.

Matheson is pushing for his bill to be included in the final draft of a comprehensive FDA overhaul bill being considered by the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

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