Are Generic Meds Sold Online Safe?

Some are.. others are not. The FDA says it has no way to tell the difference, but there are ways that consumers can.

(PRWEB) January 16, 2005 -- Prescription meds cost far more in the United States than anywhere else in the world because we're the only industrialized nation that doesn't use price controls to hold down costs.

Limiting drug prices in this country -- directly or by importing price-controlled medications from elsewhere -- would deprive the pharmaceutical industry of billions in profits and, drug makers contend, stifle the costly research that spawns groundbreaking new medications.

But can they be trusted? "The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America have long claimed that imported drugs are unsafe, even though many "U.S.-made" drugs are manufactured overseas," says Jennifer Allen, spokesperson for PillSamples.com (http://www.pillsamples.com). She goes on to add, "Generic medications sold online are a safe, convenient, and affordable solution that millions are taking advantage of."

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has mostly ignored U.S. citizens who cross the border with personal supplies of Canadian medications, but it has sided with drug makers on the safety issue. "We know there are good drugs and bad drugs being sold, but we can't tell you which ones are which," says William Hubbard, the FDA's associate commissioner for policy and planning. "We don't have the regulatory reach."

Advocates of importation tend to dismiss the FDA's safety concerns: "The agency is doing the bidding of the administration and the bidding of the pharmaceutical industry," says David MacKay, executive director of the Canadian International Pharmacy Association (CIPA). Indeed, the FDA has sometimes overreached in its warnings about the safety of drugs that come from other countries. But as one wades into the claims and counterclaims, some of the agency's concerns deserve a closer look.

Drug makers fight back
The pressure to feed the mounting demand in the United States for affordable drugs is especially keen now that several pharmaceutical companies, including AstraZeneca, GlaxoSmith-Kline and Pfizer, are withholding supply to Canadian pharmacies and distributors that deal primarily with U.S. customers. "We began directly notifying a group of Internet pharmacies last August that they would no longer get Pfizer products," says Pfizer spokesman Jack Cox, who adds that Canadian pharmacies are violating the terms of their contracts when they export Pfizer drugs to the United States. (Popular Pfizer products include Celebrex for arthritis, Lipitor for high cholesterol, Norvasc for high blood pressure and Zoloft for depression.)

The crackdown has created shortages, and pharmacies that export to the United States are scrambling to fill orders. "What we used to locate in 15 minutes of phone calls now takes a few people all day trying to figure out supply," says Billy Shawn, president of The Canadian Drugstore. Internet pharmacies are still managing to supply their U.S. customers. Some stocked up in anticipation of being shut off, and others are quietly buying drugs from brick-and-mortar pharmacies that primarily cater to Canadians. But the pharmacy-to-pharmacy trade that keeps Internet operations in stock is now threatening to create shortages for Canadians.

Some Internet pharmacies are telling patients to ask their doctors about brand-name or generic alternatives to Pfizer products such as Generic Viagra, says MacKay, CIPA's executive director. Others are beginning to steer U.S. customers to sources outside of Canada for "Generic Viagra". Zenegra.org(http://www.zenegra.org), for example, includes a note on its home page inviting customers to "enjoy free samples of products similar to Generic Viagra". And so far, at least, U.S. drug makers apparently are not cracking down on oversea pharmacies that ship to the States.

###