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Many “Canadian” Online Drugs Are, In Fact, Not From Canada

FDA Says These Are "Drugs Of Dubious Origin, Safety, And Efficacy"

In mid-December 2005 the FDA reported that the majority of Web sites believed to be Canadian pharmacies selling prescription drugs manufactured in Canada are actually "fronts" for drugs that were not manufactured in Canada and, in fact, came from 27 different countries.

In August 2005 the FDA conducted an inspection of packages containing prescription drugs ordered online by U.S. patients that were shipped through John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, Miami International Airport, and Los Angeles International Airport. 

According to a December 20, 2005 article in The Wall Street Journal:

"Out of nearly 4,000 parcels examined, almost 1,700, or 43%, had been ordered from ‘Canadian’ Internet pharmacies and were represented as being of Canadian origin. Of the 1,700 packages, 85% of the drugs weren’t manufactured in Canada and came from 27 different countries."

In more detail, the agency identified India, Israel, Costa Rica, and Vanuatu as the four countries which appeared to be the primary sources of those drugs that were ordered online from pharmacies alleged to be Canadian in origin.

In a December 16, 2005 statement Andrew von Eschenbach, the FDA’s acting commissioner, commented:

  • "This operation suggests that drugs ordered from so-called Canadian Internet sites are not drugs of known safety and efficacy."
  • "These results make clear there are Internet sites that claim to be ‘Canadian’ that, in fact, are peddling drugs of dubious origin, safety and efficacy."

As is well-known by now, many consumers order prescription drugs from Canada because they usually cost less than those sold in the U.S. The FDA, however, has long warned patients in the U.S. not to order prescription drugs online from Canada or other foreign countries for the very reasons stated by Dr. von Eschenbach.

In addition to having been falsely promoted as being of Canadian origin, the FDA found that some of the prescription drug products were counterfeit — an even more alarming problem for patients.

The FDA said it is working with Canadian drug regulators and law-enforcement authorities on the matter.

(Posted by: Tom Lamb)

One response to “Many “Canadian” Online Drugs Are, In Fact, Not From Canada”

  1. H. Greenspan Avatar
    H. Greenspan

    Re: the origin of Canadian drugs:
    –It is true that some are not manufactured in Canada. Many, in fact, are manufactured in the United States. This is true, for example, of some drugs that have lost patent protection here and where a new “purple pill” version has been created. In order to wean patients over to the new formulation, often only cosmetically altered, particularly during the period before generics are heavily available, U.S. companies have ceased making their original drug available in the U.S.. However, it is often still available in Canada and elshwhere around the world–at considerly less than it ever cost here. Yet it is manufacturered here. Obviously, this is not about “safety.”
    2. Conversely, many “American” drugs are not made in the U.S.. Lipitor, for example, is manufactured in Ireland.
    3. In general, Health Canada has a better safety record in recent years than the FDA. Vioxx, for example, was strictly limited in Canada to those patients with no history of cardio risk, who had failed to benefit from older NSAIDs, and who had a documented history of GI problems caused by older NSAIDs. Those, in essence, are the same guidelines that the FDA has come to consider in the U.S., if Vioxx were ever to be reintroduced here (highly unlikely, in my view).
    4. Those who decry the safety of drugs from Canada need to show two things.
    a) Proof that there is a _higher percentage_ of bogus drugs sold there than in the U.S. (there are certainly fake and adulterated drugs in the world).
    b) Proof of a single episode of injury caused by such a drug received from a registered Canadian pharmacy.
    As far as I know, neither has ever been documented.
    Which leaves the argument resting on greed-driven xenophobia

    Reply

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