Monday, October 06, 2003

From Channel Oklahoma:
East Coast Witness To Testify For RxDepot
A company that acts as a liaison between consumers and cheaper prescription drugs from Canada is getting a boost from a Massachusetts mayor.

Michael Albano, mayor of Springfield, Mass., plans to testify on behalf of RxDepot, which is the target of a federal lawsuit that seeks to close the Tulsa-based company.

From the Longview (TX) News Journal:
Canada fills $1 billion of prescriptions for Americans seeking cheaper pills
It's just after 4 p.m. -- rush hour at CanAmerica Drugs Inc. The big red Canada Post mail truck pulls up to the front door. Workers at this growing, mail-order pharmacy move into high gear to get today's shipments of Lipitor, Fosamax and other prescription drugs on their way to the United States.

Jackie Drapeau, one of four packers, grabs a gray bin off a rolling conveyer belt and carefully checks each drug order against its invoice. Then she puts the medicine bottles in a plastic envelope, seals it and drops it into one of four mail sacks divided by U.S. region.

From the Toledo (OH) Blade:
Minnesota lawmaker sees drug-import bill as right prescription
An effort to legalize the widespread importation of cheaper prescription drugs from Canada into the United States was prompted by an unusual source: The price of pigs.

Minnesota Congressman Gil Gutknecht was angry that nothing could be done to prevent cheaper Canadian hogs from flooding across the border and hurting American farmers. So, he decided if U.S. consumers had easy access to cheap Canadian pork, they deserved easy access to inexpensive Canadian drugs.

"We have free trade when it comes to hogs, but not Prilosec," he said of the popular pill used to control heartburn.

From American Medical News:
FDA sues Rx sellers to stop importation of drugs from Canada
Marc Lewin, MD, a family physician in Charlotte, N.C., said some patients have asked him about Rx Depot since a storefront opened in his area a couple of weeks ago. Dr. Lewin practiced medicine in Canada between 1991 and 1994. Since that time, he's practiced in the United States.

"People's main concern is quality," Dr. Lewin said. "I can tell them, 'yes, the quality is there.' " But patients need to be certain they are dealing with a quality company doing the shipping, he said.

From the Canadian Press:
Illinois interested in 'Net pharmacies
A delegation from Illinois is heading to Winnipeg this week to check out several Internet pharmacies.

The state's governor, Rod Blagojevich, has said he's interested in buying prescription drugs from Canada for state employees and seniors.

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