Counterfeit Drugs a Smokescreen-Officials:
By Kim Dixon
CHICAGO (Reuters) - New attempts by major drugmakers to block distribution of counterfeit medicines are actually ploys to prevent reimportation of cheaper medicines into the United States, state and city officials told Reuters on Friday.
Pfizer Inc. on Friday said it will require hospitals, pharmacies and distributors to buy its prescription drugs only from wholesalers authorized by the company, following a similar move last week by Johnson & Johnson .
That will make it more difficult for Canadian distributors to stockpile surplus medicines for later export to the United States.
The drug makers said the tightened distribution is designed to stop unsafe counterfeit drugs from reaching consumers. But U.S. officials say the moves are aimed at preventing cheap Canadian drugs from entering the U.S. distribution system."
COMMENT:
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The enlightened pharma firms who follow suit will be doing a tremendous public service to our planet. Regardless of the Feds and others perception of keeping cheap drugs from entering the U.S. distribution system, the QC on keeping counterfeits out of the system should improve. This of course will have little impact on the hundreds of Internet sites See This Site that are circumventing the new strategies.
