Mail Order Pharmacy Receives Letter From Merck Stating They Will No Longer Provide Drugs to Company

Large Pharmaceutical company stops providing products to Canadian Mail Order Pharmacy for reimportation into the U.S. for U.S. citizens

Calgary, (PRWEB) January 19, 2005 -- Today, Total Care Pharmacy, along with many other Canadian Mail Order pharmacies and wholesalers, received a letter from Merck Frosst stating that they would no longer be providing their drug products for the use of exportation.

The letter from Merck stated: It has come to our attention that your company is selling our drug products directly or indirectly to patients or others in the United States. This practice is of concern to our company as it raises a number of regulatory and legal issues relating to the sale of Canadian approved medicines to foreign jurisdictions and it jeopardizes supply to Canadian patients ... Consequently, we will no longer be providing your company with our drug products until such time as you demonstrate to us that you are willing to comply with your contractual obligations by discontinuing all direct or indirect export sales of our products to the United States."

Mr. Dave Robertson, President of Total Care Pharmacy (www.crossborderpharmacy.com) stated: This is just another tactic from the big pharmaceutical companies to try and stop the mail order pharmacy industry and to stop U.S. citizens from getting safe and affordable prescriptions from Canada. We have been getting product from Merck for three years so why are they taking this action now."
   
Mr. Robertson stated, There is no evidence at this time that shipping medications to American citizens has jeopardized the supply of medications to Canadian patients. In fact, if the truth be known, it is the drug companies that control the supply of drugs, not mail order pharmacies. Drug manufacturers are like any other industry and they manufacture based upon supply and demand. The real issue is that drug companies dont want to lose profits. If the drug can be obtained at a lower cost in Canada than in the U.S. and U.S. citizens are purchasing it from Canada, it affects the drug companies bottom line. This is the real reason why drug companies dont want to continue to supply products to mail order pharmacies in Canada. "
   
Mr. Robertsons statements are strongly echoed by many other mail order pharmacies within Canada. The fact of the matter is that many of the drug manufacturing companies have profits that put them in the top 20 of whos who when it comes to companies having the highest revenues each and every year.

It is unfortunate that this war against drug prices has to be fought. Worse yet that it is being fought only by the mail order pharmacies in Canada for the betterment of U.S. citizens and that no one else appears to be taking up the fight, especially since many of these people are seniors, the underinsured or those with no insurance at all. To the person who cant readily afford the cost of drugs in the U.S. there exist a lot of questions such as: Why doesnt my own government push for me to get safe and affordable medications here in the U.S.? Why do drug manufacturers hold me at ransom and not sell drugs at a price I can afford in my own country, or allow me to get them from countries such as Canada?" For thousands of Americans that are currently getting their medications from Canada who may now be forced to look at other options overseas, they are starting to question if the drug manufacturers will soon flex their muscles once again and attempt to stop pharmacies from shipping safe and affordable medications from Europe, Australia, and other countries.

I became a pharmacist to help people and I got into this business for the same reason." Mr. Robertson stated. I will continue to try to help U.S. citizens get safe and affordable medications even if the drug companies and their own government wont. I am working now with a number of licensed pharmacies overseas and many of my customers are now choosing to use my services to get their prescriptions filled overseas." Robertson said.

When asked if he thought the drug companies would try to stop prescription medications from being shipped from overseas, Mr. Robertson stated: They will try, but drugs have been shipped from overseas to the U.S. for a long time now. We can only hope that some time in the near future one of the drug companies will stop and realize that while they produce drugs to help people get better -- people can only truly get better if they an afford to take the drugs. Right now there are a lot of people that cant afford their medication and therefore are going without it, and the drug companies are missing this market. For now, people are looking at my company as the only place in which they can afford medications and the drug companies want to stop this."
   
Based in Calgary, Alberta, Total Care Pharmacy Ltd., is one of the largest mail order pharmacies in Canada and is noted for their superiority in providing prescription services to American citizens. Total Care Pharmacy Ltd. is associated with many different cities and states in the U.S., and can be reached via their website www.crossborderpharmacy.com or toll free at 1-888-626-0696.

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