Monday, March 01, 2004

From the London (Ont.) Free Press:
Internet pharmacies
When Barbara Kaufman in Minnesota realizes she's running low on her daily blood-pressure medication, she doesn't head to her neighbourhood drugstore near Minneapolis for a refill. Instead, the 70-year-old retired social worker calls or e-mails an Internet pharmacy in Canada and asks them to mail her the drugs. A few days later, they arrive in a sealed package.

From the Dunn County (Wisc.) News:
A bitter pill: Prescription website vexes area druggists
Now appearing at a website near you: Governor Jim Doyle's solution to expensive prescription drugs.

"If the federal government won't do anything to help our citizens with the high price of prescription drugs, then Wisconsin will act on our own," the Governor declared. "By logging on to drugsavings. wi.gov, consumers will have the opportunity to make an informed decision among all the options available to them -- and find real and significant savings on some of the most frequently prescribed drugs."
The site allows Wisconsin residents to buy from one of three mail order pharmacies in Canada that were evaluated last week by a team of state officials.

From the Baltimore Sun:
The high stakes of drug names
Prescriptions in hand, you head for the pharmacy, glancing at your doctor's scribbling.

Does that say Aloxi or Alrex? Axert or Azopt? Is that Iressa or Inspra? Rescula or Reyataz?

With more than 17,000 trademarked medications on the market, and only 26 letters in the alphabet, it's no surprise that drug makers resort to bizarre names such as these. But the search for drug brand names has become far more than a brainstorming session with letter-dice.

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