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Cracking Down: Chain Selling Canadian Medicines Ordered to Close

Aired September 10, 2003 - 06:17   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Time now, though, for a little business buzz. The government is stepping up its fight against the import of cheaper drugs from Canada.
Joya Dass live at the Nasdaq market site with details.

This is not going to make consumers happy -- Joya.

JOYA DASS, CNN FINANCIAL NEWS CORRESPONDENT: It most certainly isn't. And this has been a hot button issue for sometime now, right?

Well, the company that we're talking about, or the company in question, is called RX Depot. It's based in Tulsa, Oklahoma. And in the first suit of its kind, the government is actually cracking down and ordering this chain to shut down so it can no longer sell these Canadian prescription drugs to U.S. consumers.

Now remember when you're talking about these consumers and you're talking about these particular prescription drugs, Canadian drugs are typically 50 percent less than what it costs you to get those drugs here in the U.S. And after everything is said and done, it's a pretty lucrative business. It's about -- commands about $650 million on an annual basis. But the government is saying no more. This is not something that they are going to tolerate, so this is the first of several lawsuits, I'm sure, we're probably going to hear about. This is actually a civil lawsuit that RX Deport could be facing.

And as I said, you know this is a hot button issue. Pfizer has already actually changed the way that it distributes drugs to its distributors versus its wholesalers so it could keep closer tabs on this. And there are some members of Congress that actually want to allow this to happen as well.

COSTELLO: Interesting. Joya Dass, you'll keep us up to date on what happens with those lawsuits, I'm sure.

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Aired September 10, 2003 - 06:17   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Time now, though, for a little business buzz. The government is stepping up its fight against the import of cheaper drugs from Canada.
Joya Dass live at the Nasdaq market site with details.

This is not going to make consumers happy -- Joya.

JOYA DASS, CNN FINANCIAL NEWS CORRESPONDENT: It most certainly isn't. And this has been a hot button issue for sometime now, right?

Well, the company that we're talking about, or the company in question, is called RX Depot. It's based in Tulsa, Oklahoma. And in the first suit of its kind, the government is actually cracking down and ordering this chain to shut down so it can no longer sell these Canadian prescription drugs to U.S. consumers.

Now remember when you're talking about these consumers and you're talking about these particular prescription drugs, Canadian drugs are typically 50 percent less than what it costs you to get those drugs here in the U.S. And after everything is said and done, it's a pretty lucrative business. It's about -- commands about $650 million on an annual basis. But the government is saying no more. This is not something that they are going to tolerate, so this is the first of several lawsuits, I'm sure, we're probably going to hear about. This is actually a civil lawsuit that RX Deport could be facing.

And as I said, you know this is a hot button issue. Pfizer has already actually changed the way that it distributes drugs to its distributors versus its wholesalers so it could keep closer tabs on this. And there are some members of Congress that actually want to allow this to happen as well.

COSTELLO: Interesting. Joya Dass, you'll keep us up to date on what happens with those lawsuits, I'm sure.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com




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