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From: Bart (129.171.32.13)
Minnesota seniors' drugs seized U.S. customs officials in Miami have seized a prescription drug shipment from a Canadian pharmacy with about 350 orders, half intended for members of the Minnesota Senior Federation, officials said Tuesday. The drugs were shipped about two weeks ago by CanadaRx, based in Toronto, the primary pharmacy used by the Senior Federation. Even more remarkable than the seizure itself -- reportedly the largest U.S. interception of low-cost drugs from a Canadian mail-order pharmacy, valued at $250,000 -- were the sources. The drugs came from England, Germany, Switzerland, France, New Zealand and Australia, as well as Canada. That's the first public indication that Canadian mail-order pharmacies are grasping beyond England to find drugs made scarce by manufacturers trying to shut down the lucrative cross-border trade. The drugs were shipped from Freeport, the Bahamas, in an attempt by CanadaRx to duck Canadian laws prohibiting a pharmacy from importing drugs, then selling them abroad. The shipments -- and seizure -- come as Congress is considering legislation to open U.S. borders to freer trade in prescription drugs, which are far cheaper in most other countries because of price controls. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), called in after customs seized the drugs, said its investigation is continuing, but it has decided there is no ground for prosecution. "We want to know a little more about these drugs, where they're coming from," said William Hubbard, FDA associate commissioner for policy. "We're very concerned about the potential for harm from mislabeled or counterfeit drugs." But Harvey Organ, an owner of CanadaRx, said his firm talked with FDA officials before opening the office in the Bahamas July 1. "They knew what we were doing," he said. "We keep talking with those guys, and they listen and smile and then they pull something like this." FDA and CanadaRx officials said that the shipment was seized July 27 after Federal Express, which flew the load to Miami, alerted customs officials of a large increase in shipments from CanadaRx in the Bahamas. It could be three or four months before the FDA releases the drugs, probably shipping them to Canada, Organ said. CanadaRx began sending out new shipments to affected customers on Monday, he said. And with a new shipper using a new point of entry -- "someplace other than Miami; I'm not saying where" -- he's beginning to clear a backlog of 3,000 orders held up at the Bahamas office after the seizure. "The drug companies are making this really hard, but I'm trying to get drugs at Canadian prices from countries that match Canadian and U.S. standards," he said. "That means going to England and Switzerland and places like that." Since last year, Pfizer , Wyeth and several other drug makers have refused to sell to mail-order pharmacies and forced Canadian wholesalers to stop as well. Most mail-order pharmacies are still filling most of their orders through Canadian sources, but several began going to England two months ago, particularly for Pfizer drugs. The drug companies and the FDA argue that the cross-border trade is dangerous because it exposes U.S. consumers to potentially adulterated, impure or counterfeit drugs. But the Minnesota Senior Federation and others say the drug makers are merely trying to protect inflated U.S. profits, and they criticize the FDA for helping manufacturers prop up high drug prices at the expense of aging people on fixed incomes. "This situation is really, really abominable," said Peter Wyckoff , executive director of the federation. "The best solution is for our government to negotiate for fair prices. But until Congress finally acts, our program at least helps people who need reasonably priced medicine." The federation's two-year-old Canadian Prescription Drug Importation Program serves about 6,000 members, most of them in Minnesota. The federation now has members in every state, joining to use the drug program. Wyckoff said his organization gave CanadaRx permission to begin procuring drugs from other countries, "and we're comfortable with that. We know CanadaRx, and we know the standards in the other countries are excellent." Warren Wolfe is at wolfe@startribune.com.
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