FDAnews
www.fdanews.com/articles/83443-us-fda-probes-canadian-online-drug-shipments

US FDA PROBES 'CANADIAN' ONLINE DRUG SHIPMENTS

December 29, 2005

According to the results of an investigation by the US FDA, which sampled nearly 4,000 parcels, only 15% of drug packages of Canadian-labelled drugs shipped to the US genuinely originated in Canada. Meanwhile, Israel, India and Costa Rica were among the true countries of origin for 85% of the purportedly "Canadian" products examined, which accounted for 43% of shipments included in the survey.

The FDA has also noted that many of the drug packets were inadequately labelled and a number were found to be counterfeit. The practice of internet drug suppliers falsely claiming to be based in Canada is known as "bait and switch," and could potentially be harming public health in the US, according to the agency. Nevertheless, the results are unsurprising, given the lure of Canada's price-controlled drugs for financially hard-pressed US patients.