Big pharma is fighting back about Canadian drugs being allowed.

[madfloridian]

The government appears to be easing restrictions on US citizens buying drugs from Canada. I did not realize how heated this was getting until I saw a letter to the editor today from a senior VP of a pharmaceutical resaarch company.

Rx Group: Importing Drugs From Canada Could Be Dangerous

Your Sunday editorial "U.S. Customs Sees the Light" does not provide a complete picture of the health dangers American patients could potentially face if they import prescription drugs from foreign countries.

The Canadian government and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have repeatedly warned Americans that they can't guarantee the safety of imported medicines. According to reports, fake and substandard prescription drugs from countries such as Thailand, Pakistan and China have been found in Canada. In fact, just weeks ago the FDA warned Americans not to buy medicines from certain Canadian Web sites because of the discovery of unsafe counterfeit drugs.

Why are drugs cheaper, in some cases, in Canada? Government-imposed price controls. And reports show those price controls, unfortunately, have led to restricted access to life-saving medicines by Canadian patients. Numerous studies have found that price controls can delay or reduce the availability of innovative medicines. America patients, on the other hand, have greater access to cuttingedge medicines that can help them lead longer, healthier lives.

This is so outrageous to see this as a letter to the editor. At least they put the full title of his position. It was signed by KEN JOHNSON
Senior Vice President, Pharmaceutical Research, and Manufacturers of America, Washington.

So I did a google on "ken johnson" and "canadian drugs". There is a lot on this subject, and he is one busy irritated guy. They are really pumping this "dangerous Canadian drugs" idea...so obviously.

Senator Bill Nelson is investigating to see if harm is being done to Canadian drug companies by other companies if they sell to the US.

Seizures of Canadian Drugs Rise as Congress, Customs Spar

Sen. Nelson has asked the Senate's Homeland Security Committee to look into allegations that British drug company GlaxoSmithKline PLC conspired with other big drug companies to put Canadian pharmacies that filled American prescriptions out of business.

The allegations stem from a civil lawsuit filed by Minnesota Attorney General Mike Hatch against Glaxo. The suit alleges that Glaxo "orchestrated a concerted pharmaceutical industry boycott of Canadian drug imports to protect drug company profits," in violation of the state's antitrust statutes. Large numbers of Minnesotans buy medicine in Canada.

Mr. Hatch has subpoenaed 45 secret documents from Glaxo that he says prove the conspiracy.

I wonder how mnay letters Mr Phil Johnson of that pharmaceutical research group has had published lately. I hate this kind of stuff. They were doing this in 03 about the Medicare Drug bill, getting letters printed in papers. It is just another form of propaganda, I guess.

[midnight]

1. This is capitalism. We are trying to get this best deal for our

money. We are doing what all the be corporations are doing. Looking for better deals. Why can't we do that, but the cooperations can?

[rwenos]

2. Big Pharma Racketeers

The big pharmaceutical companies are nothing better than mobster racketeers in my book. They operate on about a 97% profit margin (spare me the mantra about research -- they would do that anyway, since their patents are only for a limited time). They have repeatedly threatened the Canadian government with putting Canadian sales on "allocation" -- i.e., exporting to Canada only so much of any one drug as can be consumed by the 32 million or so Canadians.

This is nothing short of thuggery and racketeering. How much more clearly can one spell A-N-T-I-C-O-M-P-E-T-I-T-I-V-E? Why can't the U.S. Government enforce the anti-trust laws, let alone RICO.

Even greenmail can descend into racketeering. Why cannot this thuggish behavior be called the same thing?

[yourout]

3. After all the money they spent buying Congress they are pissed...

that the Canadians are allowed to export.