11.   Recent federal legislative proposals would relax prohibitions against importing prescription drugs from other countries, where prices tend to be lower.

12.   Sally Cooper said the groups began importing the drug only after two years of unsuccessfully lobbying the FDA to expand its use to include people with wasting syndrome.

13.   The bill would allow pharmacists and wholesalers to import prescription drugs that meet safety standards set by federal law and regulations.

14.   The drugs had been imported by Eastern European crime gangs from Colombia.

15.   The Health and Human Services secretary, Tommy Thompson, has blocked a law allowing firms to import drugs, saying federal officials could not guarantee their safety.

16.   The health ministry provides the cocktails free to patients, and turned to making them domestically when the cost of importing brand name drugs threatened to bankrupt the program.

17.   The House and Senate recently approved a measure allowing pharmacists to import prescription drugs from countries where they sell for substantially less than in the United States.

18.   The law allowed pharmacists and wholesalers to import prescription drugs that meet safety standards set by federal laws and regulations.

19.   The other would allow pharmacists and wholesalers to import drugs from Canada and Europe, where drug prices are held down by government regulation.

20.   The South African government, on its side, is threatening to bypass the pharmaceutical companies and import cheaper drugs.