Local pharmacist awarded millions in case against CVS

Here's an interesting article where an independent pharmacist wins a lawsuit against pharmacy giant CVS.

Jackson pharmacist Randy Guy was awarded $5.5 million in a suit against Rhode Island based drugstore chain, CVS for breach of contract and fraud. ...more

Memories fill pharmacist

From the Regina Leader Post:
After 37 years in business, Bob Moffitt has done more than dispense pills and sell household items to customers at his north-central Regina pharmacy.

He's shared valuable advice, watched children grow up, swapped family stories, built friendships, provided a helping hand and -- in one of the unpleasant moments -- faced a man with a sawed-off shotgun during a robbery. ...more

Back from extended break

I apologize for the lengthy delay in posting articles. My schedule should permit regular updates once again. -- J

Antibiotic may help ease asthma attack due to anti-inflammatory effect: study

From the Canadian Press:
Patients given a certain antibiotic for acute asthma attacks had reduced symptoms and a hastened recovery, providing a potential new avenue of treatment for the increasingly common affliction, researchers say.

In an intriguing study published Thursday in the New England Journal of Medicine, researchers report that patients treated with the antibiotic telithromycin not only had twice the improvement in symptoms than asthmatics given a placebo, but they also recovered much sooner. ...more

The pharmacist has your ecstasy ready

From the Toronto Star:
A Toronto weekend reveller pops into a local drugstore to pick up some ecstasy. He's followed by an addict who's there to buy a single-dose, non-reusable syringe for her fix.

Both transactions are administered by a pharmacist trained to offer advice on the safest way to use the substances.

Nearby, at a "natural herbal products" outlet, pot smokers are lined up for some grown-in-Ontario weed.

The sales are all legal, controlled, regulated and taxed — with profits divided among suppliers, distributors and sellers once a sizeable chunk of cash has been diverted to government coffers for enforcement, management and treatment of drug dependency, and for other social programs.

A far-fetched scenario? ...more

U.S. Medicare plan a blow to Cdn online pharmacies

From the National Post:
With just one month left for American patients to enrol in a new federal drug plan, Canada's online pharmacy industry is trying to assess just how big a hit they've taken -- and how soon they might recover.

While there have been some layoffs and losses since the U.S. program, called Medicare Part D, was rolled out in January, industry insiders say they hope to weather the storm because of the many gaps in the U.S. plan. ...more

Ontario drug-system overhaul targets cost

From the Globe and Mail:
A sweeping overhaul of Ontario's drug system would see pharmaceutical companies banned from paying secret rebates to pharmacists, patients getting faster access to breakthrough drugs and more brand-name products being replaced with cheaper generic versions.

The provincial government introduced legislation yesterday aimed at ensuring consumers have access to drugs at reasonable prices while curbing rising costs that it says threaten the province's entire public health-care system. ...more

Drug equals tamoxifen in preventing breast cancer, fewer side-effects: study

From the Canadian Press:
An osteoporosis drug has been found to reduce the incidence of invasive breast cancer in high-risk, post-menopausal women as effectively as the current gold-standard drug tamoxifen - but with far fewer serious side-effects, researchers say.

In a head-to-head study sponsored by the U.S. National Cancer Institute (NCI), both raloxifene and tamoxifen were found to reduce the risk of invasive breast cancer by almost 50 per cent compared with a placebo. ...more

Ontario children with diabetes to get help with funding for insulin pumps

From the Canadian Press:
Ontario will become the first province in Canada to fund insulin pumps for children with diabetes as part of a $1.9-billion increase in health-care spending included in Thursday's provincial budget.

The pledge will provide some 6,500 children diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes with the best possible chance to lead a normal lifestyle, said Finance Minister Dwight Duncan, who called it the one item in the budget of which he's proudest. ...more

Dangerous drugs stolen from pharmacy

From the Brandon Sun:
Police fear a big dose of of dangerous drugs — including potentially deadly ‘hillbilly heroin’ — is on city streets following a brazen break-in at a Brandon pharmacy.

With surgical precision, thieves cut into a lock and defeated the Clinic Pharmacy’s alarm system during an overnight raid discovered Tuesday morning. ...more

School of Pharmacy starting to take shape

The University of Waterloo's new School of Pharmacy officially had its groundbreaking today. The new school will accept 120 students in the fall of 2007. ...more

Newer antidepressants linked to serious lung disorder in newborns

From Health Canada:
Health Canada is advising women who are taking antidepressants known as Selective Serotonin Re-uptake Inhibitors (SSRI) and who are pregnant or intend to become pregnant to discuss the situation with their doctor due to potential risks to the baby. ...more

Drug residue tainting water, report warns

From the Globe and Mail:
Residues from drugs and cosmetics are widespread contaminants in Canadian waterways, and should be subject to increased oversight by regulators because they represent a possible health hazard, says a report that is being released today.

The report, by the Canadian Institute for Environmental Law and Policy, said tests of the past decade in the United States and Europe have found water to be laced with residues from cosmetics and 100 drugs, and while studies in Canada have not been as extensive, the situation is unlikely to be much different because of the high use of these products. ...more

Some patients will probably die if MS drug allowed: FDA official

From the Brandon Sun:
Dozens of multiple sclerosis patients asked federal health advisers Tuesday to let them decide whether to take Tysabri, a promising drug that was pulled from the market after it was linked to a rare, often-fatal brain infection.

‘‘I am at the end of my road, in terms of what I can take. I want it to be my choice,’’ said Barbara Crooks, 48, who travelled with her husband, David, from the Pittsburgh area to testify before a U.S. Food and Drug Administration advisory committee. ...more

State renews Canada drug pact

From the Badger Herald (Wisconsin):
As part of Wisconsin’s prescription drug program with Canada, Gov. Jim Doyle extended medication importation agreements with three Canadian pharmacies last Friday.

“Hopefully, drug prices will fall, but until then, the renewal of the agreement provides seniors with another option to obtain low-cost prescription drugs,” said Gail Sumi, director of the National Association of Retired Persons Associate State Advocacy. ...more

Seized Drugs Being Released

From the Los Angeles Times:
Amid mounting criticism of their crackdown on mail-order medications, customs officials have begun releasing hundreds of seized packages to consumers, Canadian pharmacies and U.S. lawmakers said Tuesday.

It was unclear whether the action signaled an end to the crackdown, which started in November when U.S. Customs and Border Protection quietly increased seizures of prescription drugs mailed from abroad.

After repeatedly denying that they had changed policies, customs officials this week acknowledged that the agency had stepped up enforcement of a federal law banning personal importation of pharmaceuticals. ...more

Nevada's Canadian drug import plan moves ahead

From the Las Vegas Sun:
A divided state panel moved ahead Wednesday with plans to let Nevadans get low-cost prescription drugs from Canada, voting 4-3 for new rules that will be up for final approval April 20.

The state Board of Pharmacy action at a workshop was taken despite an earlier warning from state Attorney General George Chanos that the import program could have dire legal consequences because it puts the state at odds with the federal Food and Drug Administration. ...more

Fewer seniors turning to Canada for prescriptions - Boston.com

From the Boston Globe:
Retired furniture store owner Don Brock quit buying prescription drugs from Canada this year, now that he's signed up for the new federal Medicare drug benefit.

The next time he needs a refill on Lipitor, his daily anti-cholesterol drug, Brock will go to a pharmacy near his home in Litchfield. The 74-year-old says he was saving about $300 annually buying Canadian; now, he figures he'll save about $500 buying through Medicare. ...more

Canada drug-pricing questioned

The latest report from the Vancouver-based Fraser Institute has suggested no less than the total dismantling of the price control system in place on Canadian pharmaceuticals, all in the name of protecting the drug supply from American cross-border shoppers. The Institute suggests that a "temporary" price increase would put internet pharmacies out of business then drug companies would happily go back to previous regulations.

Is it me, or is this simply crazy? In an era of rising health care costs, drugs are one of the fastest growing areas of spending. Canadian pricing controls keep these costs somewhat in check. Meanwhile, Americans pay the highest drug prices in the world. I'd like to see the Fraser Institute convince provincial health ministers that having to double their expenditures on drugs for a couple of years to ensure that Canada doesn't run out of supply. This is like saying we need to double the price of milk for a couple of years because we're worried about the milk supply running out. It's the weirdest economic theory I can think of.

And maybe it's just me, but I think if price controls are removed, the drug companies would be quite reluctant to go back to the old system. After a couple of years of increased profits, it would be hard to convince them to turn back the clock. This would be a dream scenario for drug companies, and a nightmare for provincial governments, medical insurance companies, and individual customers and it would all be in the name of stopping internet pharmacy.

The report fails to mention that the Bush administation along with the FDA are totally against imporation and would never allow the mass imporation that the Fraser folks say would clean out the Canadian supply. So the whole argument is a moot point as I see it.

More on the story in the Calgary Sun article below....

Canada must abandon regulated drug-pricing to stop Americans from draining brand-name prescription medicines through bulk buys from Internet pharmacies, says a report released Wednesday.

The Fraser Institute says such a move could see Canadians temporarily paying more for some drugs, but it would be worth it to prevent widespread shortages. There's no evidence to suggest brand-name drug makers would take advantage of "flexible pricing" and permanently boost the cost of drugs, said report author Brett Skinner. ...more

Province not paying for pricey cancer drug

Here's an interesting story of how procedure can get in the way of the treatment. It seems that an effective drug is not covered by Alberta's provincial coverage plan because it never got a NOC from Health Canada.

From the Edmonton Journal:
As Alberta prepares new legislation to become a leader in the war against cancer, some colon cancer patients are being forced to pick up big bills -- with tabs running as high as five figures -- for chemotherapy.

Alberta is one of three provinces that doesn't fund the drug oxaliplatin, considered an effective therapy for advanced colorectal cancer, because of a patent problem that never saw the drug go through a federal review process. ...more

Maybe it's just me, but can't they make exceptions for products that are approved Canadian drugs with documented therapeutic benefits? These exceptional items should be subject to some kind of appeal process.