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Pharmaceutical Companies Get Tough on Internet Pharmacies While U.S. Official Starts Supporting Drug Imports
In an effort to stop U.S. consumers from getting access to cheaper drugs from the Internet, Pfizer has filed lawsuits against five Internet sites and is trying to limit the amount of drugs it sells in Canada in order that they are not resold in the U.S.
On Tuesday, May 4th, Pfizer filed lawsuits against WorldMeds RX, Online RX DrugStore, Generic Lipitors, B.M. International and Offshore Pharma for selling generic versions of a cholesterol-lowering drug, Lipitor, whose patent has not yet expired in the United States. Some of these sites claim that the products originated from India, where drug patents are not recognized. Pfizer has also tried to eliminate references to Lipitor in advertisements and to eliminate links to sites that direct consumers to unapproved drugs in the United States.
Meanwhile, several bills are pending in Congress to permit drug imports from countries such as Canada. Until now administration and Republican congressional leaders have been opposed to such legislation. However, Tommy Thompson, Secretary of Health and Human Services in the United States, has been quoted as stating that drug imports would help U.S. consumers and that he would advise the federal government not to stand in the way of legislation legalizing the importation of drugs from abroad. Thompson warns, however, that such move would be expensive because, as a measure to maintain safety of these drugs, regulators would have to increase inspection of foreign pharmaceutical plants and packages of prescription drugs being imported in the U.S.
Some states and cities are supporting the importation of drugs from Canada as a money saving tool. Minnesota, for example, started the first state-run website that directs consumers to state-approved pharmacies in Canada that sell cheaper drugs. The city of Springfield, Massachusetts has started buying prescription drugs from Canada for its city employees and retirees, saving an estimated two million dollars (U.S.) in the past nine months.
Opponents of drug imports argue that drug companies are now choking off supplies to Canada in an effort to stop such drug imports into the U.S.
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