Volume I

Issue : 6: September 18, 2003

• Three Privacy Studies Recently Released
• Florida Supreme Court Rules State Employees Are Not Required to Disclose Emails
• Over 27 Million Victims of Identity Theft In The Last Five Years
• CIRA s New Policies and Amendments Effective as of September 25 2003
• UKs Advertising Standard Authority Issues First Spam Decision
• Delivery of Pop up Ads Found to be Legal
• Harvard Publishes UDRP Guide
• U.S. Court of Appeals Upholds City Refusal to Include Link To Publication Critical of City Officials
• U.S. Recording Industry Takes Action Against Individual Users and Announces Amnesty
• U.S. Justice Department Files Injunction to Shut Down RxDepot
• First Case Under Amber Alert Legislation
• Ontario To Use Software to Meet Privacy and Access to Information Laws
• Alberta Court of Appeal Upholds Acquittal of Spammer
• FDA Warns Website Selling Canadian Pharmaceuticals

Home > Volume I > Issue 6: September 18, 2003 > U.S. Justice Department Files Injunction to Shut Down RxDepot

U.S. Justice Department Files Injunction to Shut Down RxDepot

On September 11, 2003, the United States Justice Department, acting on behalf of the Food and Drug Administration, filed an injunction in the United States District Court Northern District of Oklahoma against RxDepot, its affiliate Rx of Canada LLC and its principals, Carl Moore and David Peoples, as part of its continuing efforts to curb the importation of low-cost prescription drugs into the United States from pharmacies in Canada.

Based in Tulsa, Oklahoma, RxDepot runs 85 "storefronts" in the U.S. through which Americans can obtain prescription drugs from Canadian pharmacies at a cost that is on average 50% less than it would be in the U.S. because of Canadian government regulations and a favourable exchange rate. As one of the first companies set up to enable U.S. customers to receive mail-order prescriptions from outside the country, RxDepot has been on the FDA's "most wanted" list for some time.

In a letter dated March 21, 2003, the FDA formally warned RxDepot that it was illegally assisting U.S. residents in importing drugs from abroad, and demanded that the company stop doing so or face legal action to shut it down. On September 9, 2003, a further warning letter was sent to RxDepot by the Justice Department at the request of the FDA. In response to each of these demands, RxDepot and its principals have vehemently denied that they are engaging in any illegal activity. Maintaining that they are not a pharmacy nor a point of sale, and that they operate under the guidelines set forth by the FDA, RxDepot and its principals have not only refused to comply with the FDA's demands but have, in fact, expanded their operations over the past months.

In response, the Justice Department filed its Complaint for Injunction in which it alleges that the defendants have violated federal drug importation laws and "posed significant risks to the public health" by: (1) causing shipments of U.S.-manufactured drugs to be re-imported into the U.S.; (2) causing shipments of unapproved, foreign-manufactured drugs (which do not have the same assurance of safety and efficacy as drugs that are regulated and approved by the FDA) to be introduced into interstate commerce; and (3) making misleading statements to consumers about the safety of their drugs. (e.g., statements that the FDA condones their activities or that their prescriptions are FDA approved).

For a copy of the Complaint visit:

http://www.nacds.org/user-assets/PDF_files/Complaint_US_v_RxDepot.pdf

For additional information, visit:

http://makeashorterlink.com/?N26C12EE5

http://money.cnn.com/2003/09/11/news/companies/rxdepot

http://www.latimes.com/technology/la-fi-canada10sep10,1,362107.story