Pfizer Pressures Canadian Sellers Of Drugs to U.S.
By TAMSIN CARLISLE
Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
CALGARY, Alberta -- Pfizer Inc. is getting tougher in its determination to choke off supplies of medicines to Canadian online pharmacies that ship prescription drugs to U.S. patients.
In a letter dated Jan. 12, Pfizer advised Canadian drug retailers that they will require company authorization in order to deal with Pfizer's authorized wholesalers. Authorization is conditioned, among other things, on a promise not to ship drugs to U.S. customers. "Your continuing approved status is conditional upon your continued compliance with Pfizer's terms of trade, as modified from time to time," the company stated.
The demand is broader than an edict issued this past summer, when Pfizer ordered 46 Canadian pharmacies to buy directly from the U.S. drug company, instead of through wholesalers, and demanded a promise that they wouldn't ship products south of the border. Pfizer said it would cut off supplies to any pharmacy that didn't comply.
New York-based Pfizer, the maker of cholesterol-reducing Lipitor and other products, is the world's biggest drug maker.
David MacKay, executive director of the Canadian International Pharmacy Association, an industry group representing about 27 of Canada's roughly 140 online pharmacies, called Pfizer's latest letter an "extreme" action aimed at putting Canadian mail-order pharmacies out of business.
Pfizer, in a statement, said it is "taking further steps in Canada" to protect patient safety and to ensure "an adequate and ongoing supply of Pfizer products." The company said its Canadian sales contracts have "a longstanding provision" that Pfizer products aren't for export. The Pfizer statement alleged that Internet pharmacies are a channel for illegal activity such as drug-counterfeiting.
Prescription drugs are generally less expensive in Canada than in the U.S., with Canadian regulations holding down prices. A number of U.S. states and municipalities have even started purchasing prescription drugs from Canada to lower the cost of government-funded medical programs.
Large pharmaceutical companies, including Pfizer, and U.S. Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Mark McClellan have argued that countries regulating drug prices don't pay their fair share of research-and-development costs, leaving U.S. consumers to pick up the slack. They also say safety is compromised by the cross-border shipments.
In a separate development that could create further difficulties for Canada's Internet pharmacies, the Canadian Medical Protective Association, a self-insurance group that provides legal assistance to most Canadian physicians facing malpractice suits, said it won't help doctors who become embroiled in lawsuits over prescriptions countersigned for U.S. patients.
Canadian law allows for shipments of prescriptions medicines to the U.S. provided that prescriptions written by U.S. physicians are countersigned by doctors licensed to practice in Canada. (Under U.S. law, such importation is illegal in most cases, but authorities generally look the other way.)
John E. Gray, the Ottawa-based association's executive director, said the association, which represents about 95% of Canadian doctors, is taking the step in part because the booming Internet-pharmacy business is increasing Canadian doctor's exposure to U.S. litigation. Dr. Gray said his concerns would be removed if Canadian regulators dropped the countersigning requirement.
Mr. MacKay, of the Canadian International Pharmacy Association, said he isn't too concerned that Canadian doctors will now be less willing to countersign prescriptions because none have been sued over the practice.
Write to Tamsin Carlisle at tamsin.carlisle@wsj.com
Updated January 14,
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