Merck tightens sales to Canada

Merck & Co., the second-biggest US drug maker, this week started shutting off sales to Canadian pharmacies exporting drugs to American patients, adding to manufacturers' efforts to disrupt the cross-border trade.

Daren Jorgenson, owner of Winnipeg, Manitoba-based Canadameds.com, said he received a letter Jan. 17 from Merck's Canadian unit, Merck Frosst, saying his supplies would be blocked until he discontinues all direct and indirect exports of the company's products to the United States.

''The practice is of concern to our company as it raises a number of regulatory and legal issues relating to the sale of Canadian approved medicines to foreign jurisdictions and it jeopardizes supply to Canadian patients," Merck said in the letter, dated Jan. 14. Merck's contract terms prohibit the exports, the company said in the letter.

Merck became the fourth drug maker to take such a step against Canadameds, joining Pfizer Inc., AstraZeneca PLC, and Wyeth, said Rupinder Brar, special projects manager for the Internet pharmacy. Individuals, states including Illinois and Minnesota, and cities such as Springfield, Mass., have started buying prescription drugs from Canada because government controls keep prices there as much as 70 percent lower than in the United States.

Americans imported $1.4 billion in drugs in 2003, according to a report last month by a task force headed by the US surgeon general. Half of the medicines came from Canada. While US law prohibits the trade, the government hasn't enforced the regulations for individuals making purchases for their own use.

US Senators Byron Dorgan, a North Dakota Democrat, and Olympia Snowe, a Maine Republican, have supported a bill that would allow Americans to buy from Canadian and European pharmacies after inspection by the US Food and Drug Administration.

Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, a Tennessee Republican, has blocked debate of the bill, citing safety concerns.