FDA enlists Ottawa in war on Internet pharmacists

[Guest guest]

http://www.nationalpost.com/national/story.html?id=A60C0DC0-061D-4DAC-B0F7-9E52F\

A522F9A

 

FDA enlists Ottawa in war on Internet pharmacists

Some U.S. politicians opt to support grassroots uprising

Tom Blackwell National Post

Thursday, October 30, 2003

 

Frustrated by the illegal export of prescription drugs to the United States,

American drug regulators are urging authorities here to investigate possible

violations of Canadian law by the pharmacies feeding the trade.

 

Days after meeting with Food and Drug Administration officials in Washington,

Health Canada issued a letter to pharmacies on Monday, warning they could face

sanctions if they act as unlicensed wholesalers in the export business.

 

U.S. authorities are concerned partly at reports that individual pharmacists in

such provinces as Manitoba are supplying medication under the table to Internet

pharmacies. Drug-makers south of the border, eager to curb the trade, refuse to

sell to the Canadian Net retailers directly.

 

" Canadian health laws may be broken, " Tom McGinnis, the FDA's director of

pharmacy affairs, said in an interview yesterday.

 

" Since our jurisdiction stops at the border, we wanted to work with [Health

Canada] to look at some of these issues.... We wanted them to look at their laws

to see if anything is being broken. "

 

The developments come as the number of U.S. politicians supporting the

controversial import of cheaper drugs from Canada appears to be growing by the

day, with some describing the movement as a grassroots uprising akin to the

Boston Tea Party.

 

The Mayors of both Boston and New York said this week they would be interested

in using Canadian Internet pharmacies to supply the medication needs of city

employees.

 

Minnesota, Illinois, Vermont and Iowa are all in the process of at least

investigating the idea, while bills legalizing the cross-border sales work their

way through Congress.

 

" There's a rebellion brewing across America, " said Tim Pawlenty, Governor of

Minnesota, at a public forum this week in Boston.

 

" It is the prescription drug equivalent of the Boston Tea Party. Americans are

fed up. They need and deserve change. "

 

The trade usually works by businesses in the United States sending a customer's

prescription to a Canadian Internet pharmacy, which fills the order after a

local doctor co-signs the prescription.

 

The cost can be as much as 80% lower than what the patient would pay in the

United States.

 

But both the FDA and drug companies are trying to combat the mass sales.

 

Not only have companies stopped selling to wholesalers whom they know supply the

Internet pharmacies, but some have decided to limit the total amount they ship

to Canada.

 

The result is that delays in obtaining specific medicine from suppliers, once

relatively rare, are becoming commonplace, said Michelle Fontaine of the

Coalition for Manitoba Pharmacy, which is opposed to the Internet trade.

 

Ms. Fontaine, a pharmacist in Winnipeg, said she spent hours one day trying to

obtain drugs to treat a child with leukemia, eventually tracking down a sole

bottle at a local hospital. Yet Ms. Fontaine found ample supplies of the

medication listed on Canadian Internet pharmacy sites geared toward the U.S.

market.

 

She said she is terrified of the prospect of New York City and other large

American jurisdictions adding to the demand for Canadian drugs.

 

" It scares the daylights out of me, " Ms. Fontaine said. " I almost see it

shutting down pharmacy in Canada. "

 

The U.S. regulators are also worried about problems with how some prescriptions

are being filled.

 

Of 1,000 drug-import packages opened by the FDA at New York's JFK airport

recently, 400 were manufacturer's " stock bottles " of 100 pills, rather than the

precise amount prescribed, he said.

 

Top officials of the FDA met with Health Canada officials in Washington two

weeks ago on the issue.

 

Mr. McGinnis visited Manitoba last month, talking to regulators, provincial

officials and pharmacists. He said he sensed that regulators in Manitoba, where

more than 100 Internet pharmacies are located, are frustrated at the

government's support for the industry, which generates millions of dollars in

business for the province.

 

" The provincial government sees so much money going into the province --

unemployment is non-existent up there -- that they [regulators] feel a little

stymied, " Mr. McGinnis said.

 

tblackwell

 

© Copyright 2003 National Post

 

 

 

NEW WEB MESSAGE BOARDS - JOIN HERE.

Alternative Medicine Message Boards.Info

http://alternative-medicine-message-boards.info

 

 

 

Exclusive Video Premiere - Britney Spears