Drug imports from Canada are now being stopped at the border.  We’re already had Glaxo trying to cut the Canadians off at the wholesale source (later joined by Pfizer).  Now we have the FDA trying to shut down a major exporter, claiming that its Insulin was not delivered frozen. While this is going on, the state of Illinois was telling its retirees to look north for their drugs.

This long article in the Boston Globe, which I got to via the excellent Bloviator medico-legal site, suggests that the crux of the FDA’s case is that insulin and some other drugs need better care (i.e. temperature controls) during transit. Even if that’s true for safety reasons, it is a) equally true for US based mail-order pharmacies and b) probably not true for most drugs sent in pill-boxes. In fact the Canadian Internet pharmacies are bending over backwards to do this properly.  Look at this example.  You need a new Rx script from a real American doctor.  While, if you want to buy Viagra online from this American source, you just need an "online consult."

So why the crackdown on the Canadian imports only? Let’s take the FDA at their word for the moment and realize that they are where the buck stops for patient safety. But if the FDA is trying to avoid appearing to be the handmaiden of PhRMA, it needs to work on its PR a bit more!