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North Carolina Board Of Pharmacy

INDIANAPOLIS -- Following the recommendation of a special task force, Eli Lilly issued a letter on Oct. 16 to 24 Canadian wholesalers requesting one-on-one meetings to outline its new drug allocation system based on the amount of drugs needed to supply Canadian demand.

"We've seen a steady increase in the illegal importation of our products from Canada," said Eli Lilly spokesman Edward Sagebiel. "Simultaneously, we've seen a greater incidence of counterfeit and improperly stored and contaminated products. This action is being taken to protect the integrity of our, products and the safety of our patients."

In a paradoxical twist, Eli Lilly's announcement came on the heels of news that the Minnesota attorney general's office filed a motion to compel GlaxoSmithKline to produce documents in connection with an ongoing investigation into the company's boycott of Canadian prescription drug imports.

"The drug industry has used its political clout to bottle up virtually all legislation," said Minnesota Attorney General Mike Hatch. "As a result, to combat skyrocketing health care costs, many Minnesotans have been forced to take things into their own hands by buying drugs from Canada. Now, the industry is trying to use its heavy hand to stop those efforts, as well."

"GlaxoSmithKline has acted in accordance with federal law and with positions taken by the [Food and Drug Administration] and the U.S. Department of Justice on both legal and safety grounds," said Nancy Pekarek, GlaxoSmithKline spokeswoman, who added that the company has cooperated fully during the investigation.

The day before Eli Lilly issued its letter, the North Carolina Board of Pharmacy took legal action seeking to shutter five businesses in the state--Discount Drugs of Canada, Canada Drug Outlet, Canada Drugs, Prescription Care of North Carolina and Canadian Meds--that were forwarding prescriptions to Canada to be filled and returned to the United States.

U.S. pharmacies that send prescription drugs to North Carolina residents must register with the board as out-of-state pharmacies and must follow all applicable rules, said David Work, executive director of the North Carolina Board of Pharmacy. "No Canadian pharmacies have applied for licensure in this state, he said. Just because a pharmacy is operating from Canada does not give them sovereign immunity. What they have been doing is flouting the law."

According to Work, the FDA supports the North Carolina, pharmacy board's action, stating that "virtually every shipment of prescription drugs from foreign pharmacies into the United States violates the law." But again, in another ironic turn, two days after the North Carolina Board of Pharmacy took legal action, Gov. Bob Wise of West Virginia joined the ranks of other state and local politicians by advocating the purchase of drugs from Canadian pharmacies.

Carmen Catizone, executive director of the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy, said Alabama, Arkansas, Montana and Oklahoma boards of pharmacy filed suits similar to North Carolina's suit.

In September, the FDA and the Department of Justice filed suit in the U.S. District Court Northern District of Oklahoma against Rx Depot, a storefront facilitating the importation of medicines from Canada. The court was expected to rule on the case Oct. 31. The decision will determine the future of other similar operations, Catizone said. "It will be a very interesting and visible decision," he noted. "All storefront facilities will look to this case to see what their fate will be."

Currently, the NABP is pulling together all 50 state boards to work with the FDA to enforce existing laws and to educate the public about the legality and safety issues of buying drugs from Canada.

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