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American Morning

Georgia Company Helps Consumers Buy Drugs From Canada

Aired January 21, 2004 - 08:44   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.


HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: The FDA says their research suggests getting prescription drugs from Canada may not be cheaper than buying domestically.
Dr. Sanjay Gupta here now to tell us about a store in Atlanta that's being a help to people trying to get these drugs north of the border. But it's in Atlanta?

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, it's in Atlanta. And this is becoming a big issue. I mean it was in the State of the Union last night. It was in the response to the State of the Union, as well. Drugs in Canada, they may be cheaper, but how do you get them? Not convenient always. Now stores making it easier to get drugs from far away.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GUPTA (voice-over): For many prescription drug prices have gotten out of control. Now in Georgia, people have a new alternative to buying drugs at the local drugstore or off the Internet. It's called Canada Drug Service Georgia.

JEFF FIBUS, V.P., CANADA DRUG SERVICE: Canada Drug Service is a prescription referral service. We are not a pharmacy. We do not keep medical records. We do not give medical advice. We do not stock any medications on the premises.

GUPTA: So why would somebody buy prescription drugs from such an establishment? Well, this customer has a simple answer.

JEAN PAYNE, CUSTOMER: Because they're much cheaper.

GUPTA: And she says she's not comfortable buying them off the Internet. But she likes the personal contact with the people in this office and she's saving a lot of money from what she used to pay.

PAYNE: My husband and I together pay, write out $800 a month or a little better and this, what I ordered the other day was just under $1,000 for three months supply.

GUPTA: How does it save the customer money? Well, the company takes the customer's prescription and faxes it to a licensed pharmacy in Canada. The order is then reviewed by a Canadian physician and a Canadian pharmacist ships the medication directly to the customer in the U.S. The customer in Georgia saves money because drugs in Canada are cheaper.

But the FDA says importing may be cheaper, but it's also illegal and potentially dangerous.

WILLIAM HUBBARD, FDA: There's a common perception that Americans buying drugs in Canada are merely buying a U.S. made drug that's being reimported. That is not the case in many, many cases that FDA sees. So the patient is put in a position of not knowing whether they're going to get a good drug or not.

GUPTA: The FDA has been taking a closer look at these so-called store front operations. Last year, federal officials shut down a company called RX Depot because they say it was importing drugs into the United States, and that violated federal law. So, do the operators of Canada Drug Service Georgia fear the same could happen to them? Initially, they told us...

FIBUS: No, we're not doing anything illegal here. We're just helping people fill out the paperwork they need to fill out.

GUPTA: A few hours after our interview, they asked us not to do the story because they worried they could be investigated and they said they don't want their customers to go without the service. But there are several states and cities, among them New Hampshire and Boston, that want to do just what Canada Drug Service Georgia does -- buy drugs from Canada to lower health care costs. And they are working on their own plans to import drugs from Canada.

Back in Atlanta, Canada Drug Service Georgia says it's just offering the uninsured and underinsured an opportunity to buy prescription drugs they may not be able to afford otherwise.

FIBUS: We're doing the right thing for the right people at the right time.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GUPTA: And just so you know, that patient that we profiled in this particular story, about $6,000 a year in savings. So pretty hard to argue with that.

COLLINS: Yes, it is. But the FDA says now that people would actually be better off buying generic drugs from Canada because it's cheaper.

Is that really true?

GUPTA: And there may be some truth to that. I mean I think generic drugs can be cheaper in a lot of situations. But in some situations, the generic drugs are not available, so you can't get them, you can't get them online nor can you get them at your pharmacy. And there are sometimes that the Canadian drugs are actually even cheaper than some of the generic drugs out there. So I think it's an issue that's probably worth debating a little bit further. Probably not good for narcotics, things like that. But when you're saving 60 percent on your cholesterol medications, it's pretty hard to argue with that and a lot of people are talking about it.

COLLINS: Yes, you can't beat it. All right, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, thanks so much.

GUPTA: Thank you.

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






Aired January 21, 2004 - 08:44   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: The FDA says their research suggests getting prescription drugs from Canada may not be cheaper than buying domestically.
Dr. Sanjay Gupta here now to tell us about a store in Atlanta that's being a help to people trying to get these drugs north of the border. But it's in Atlanta?

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, it's in Atlanta. And this is becoming a big issue. I mean it was in the State of the Union last night. It was in the response to the State of the Union, as well. Drugs in Canada, they may be cheaper, but how do you get them? Not convenient always. Now stores making it easier to get drugs from far away.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GUPTA (voice-over): For many prescription drug prices have gotten out of control. Now in Georgia, people have a new alternative to buying drugs at the local drugstore or off the Internet. It's called Canada Drug Service Georgia.

JEFF FIBUS, V.P., CANADA DRUG SERVICE: Canada Drug Service is a prescription referral service. We are not a pharmacy. We do not keep medical records. We do not give medical advice. We do not stock any medications on the premises.

GUPTA: So why would somebody buy prescription drugs from such an establishment? Well, this customer has a simple answer.

JEAN PAYNE, CUSTOMER: Because they're much cheaper.

GUPTA: And she says she's not comfortable buying them off the Internet. But she likes the personal contact with the people in this office and she's saving a lot of money from what she used to pay.

PAYNE: My husband and I together pay, write out $800 a month or a little better and this, what I ordered the other day was just under $1,000 for three months supply.

GUPTA: How does it save the customer money? Well, the company takes the customer's prescription and faxes it to a licensed pharmacy in Canada. The order is then reviewed by a Canadian physician and a Canadian pharmacist ships the medication directly to the customer in the U.S. The customer in Georgia saves money because drugs in Canada are cheaper.

But the FDA says importing may be cheaper, but it's also illegal and potentially dangerous.

WILLIAM HUBBARD, FDA: There's a common perception that Americans buying drugs in Canada are merely buying a U.S. made drug that's being reimported. That is not the case in many, many cases that FDA sees. So the patient is put in a position of not knowing whether they're going to get a good drug or not.

GUPTA: The FDA has been taking a closer look at these so-called store front operations. Last year, federal officials shut down a company called RX Depot because they say it was importing drugs into the United States, and that violated federal law. So, do the operators of Canada Drug Service Georgia fear the same could happen to them? Initially, they told us...

FIBUS: No, we're not doing anything illegal here. We're just helping people fill out the paperwork they need to fill out.

GUPTA: A few hours after our interview, they asked us not to do the story because they worried they could be investigated and they said they don't want their customers to go without the service. But there are several states and cities, among them New Hampshire and Boston, that want to do just what Canada Drug Service Georgia does -- buy drugs from Canada to lower health care costs. And they are working on their own plans to import drugs from Canada.

Back in Atlanta, Canada Drug Service Georgia says it's just offering the uninsured and underinsured an opportunity to buy prescription drugs they may not be able to afford otherwise.

FIBUS: We're doing the right thing for the right people at the right time.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GUPTA: And just so you know, that patient that we profiled in this particular story, about $6,000 a year in savings. So pretty hard to argue with that.

COLLINS: Yes, it is. But the FDA says now that people would actually be better off buying generic drugs from Canada because it's cheaper.

Is that really true?

GUPTA: And there may be some truth to that. I mean I think generic drugs can be cheaper in a lot of situations. But in some situations, the generic drugs are not available, so you can't get them, you can't get them online nor can you get them at your pharmacy. And there are sometimes that the Canadian drugs are actually even cheaper than some of the generic drugs out there. So I think it's an issue that's probably worth debating a little bit further. Probably not good for narcotics, things like that. But when you're saving 60 percent on your cholesterol medications, it's pretty hard to argue with that and a lot of people are talking about it.

COLLINS: Yes, you can't beat it. All right, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, thanks so much.

GUPTA: Thank you.

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