FDA, Pharmacy Group Discussing Canadian Rxns; NCPA Wants To Ban Ads
"The Green Sheet" March 31, 2003

The National Community Pharmacists Association is discussing the possibility of warning media outlets against running ads promoting Canadian drugs with FDA Commissioner Mark McClellan, MD.

At a March 27 meeting with McClellan, NCPA President Bruce Roberts and Senior VP-Government Affairs John Rector advocated sending letters to U.S. media outlets warning that running advertisements that promote the purchase of prescription drugs from foreign countries aids and abets illegal activity.

The warning would aim to have media companies refuse to run ads such as one by CanadaDiscountRx that recently appeared in the Washington Post.

The independent retail pharmacy association sent McClellan a letter in December urging him to issue a warning. NCPA also wants the Federal Trade Commission to take a stand against foreign drug ads.

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