BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    



                                                                  SB 1106
                                                                  Page  1

          Date of Hearing:   August 4, 2010

                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
                                Felipe Fuentes, Chair

                     SB 1106 (Yee) - As Amended:  April 5, 2010 

          Policy Committee:                             Health Vote:11-6
                       Business & Professions                      6-4

          Urgency:     No                   State Mandated Local Program:  
          Yes    Reimbursable:              No

           SUMMARY  

          This bill requires a prescriber dispensing a drug sample or  
          starter kit to either provide the patient with a copy of the  
          Federal Drug Administration (FDA)-approved package insert for  
          the drug sample or starter kit or ensure the drug manufacturer's  
          warnings are affixed to the package containing the sample or  
          starter kit. 

           FISCAL EFFECT  

          No direct fiscal impact to the California Board of Pharmacy or  
          the Medical Board of California. 

           COMMENTS  

           1)Rationale  . According to the author, this bill ensures adequate  
            information is provided to patients who receive free samples  
            of prescription drugs. The dispensing of free medications is a  
            common practice, but patients do not always receive adequate  
            written information about risks and medication management.  
            This bill increases the specificity of what must be provided  
            to patients by providers prescribing free samples or starter  
            kits. 

           2)Background  . Under current law, a variety of health  
            professionals are authorized to dispense free drug samples.  
            The samples may be provided if they are in the package  
            provided by the manufacturer and a related notation is entered  
            into the patient's chart. Pharmaceutical companies use  
            medication samples as a promotional tool.  According to  
            industry data, millions of medications and billions of dollars  








                                                                  SB 1106
                                                                  Page  2

            worth of prescription drugs were dispensed in 2007. For  
            example, Pfizer dispensed more than $2.5 billion, Merck  
            dispensed $350 million, and Eli Lilly and Wyeth each dispensed  
            more than $50 million in drug samples.  
           
          3)Concerns  . The California Medical Association (CMA) is  
            concerned this bill will make it more difficult for physicians  
            to provide free samples to patients. 

           4)Related Legislation  . AB 2690 (Krekorian) in 2008 would have  
            assigned some responsibility for warning patients about  
            hazards and risks of medications to the drug manufacturer. The  
            bill was placed on the inactive file of the Assembly. Under  
            current law the drug manufacturer has no responsibility to  
            warn patients about medication risks if adequate information  
            has been provided to the prescriber. 
           
           Analysis Prepared by  :    Mary Ader / APPR. / (916) 319-2081