Ban cross border pharmacies, protect price regulation system, groups urge.VANCOUVER -- The Canadian Treatment Action Council along with the BC Person With Aids Society has called on the Canadian government to ban cross-border pharmacies and to strengthen Canada's drug price regulation system because drug supplies for Canadians are being limited and costing more, putting sick Canadians at risk. As the same time, the groups have also issued a call to all Canadians to boycott Abbott Laboratories' products wherever it is medically feasible until the drug company rescinds a 400 per cent price increase on Norvir or Ritonavir ritonavir /ri·to·na·vir/ (ri-to´nah-vir) an HIV protease inhibitor used in treatment of HIV infection and AIDS. ri·ton·a·vir n. , which is an important HIV/AIDS HIV/AIDS Human Immunodeficiency Virus/Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome drug. Louise Binder, CTAC CTAC Chemical Transportation Advisory Committee CTAC Counter-Drug Technology Assessment Center CTAC Customer Technical Assistance Center (Sprint) CTAC Center for Army Tactics CTAC Carlsbad Field Office Technical Assistance Contractor Chair said "over the past year, the HIV HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus), either of two closely related retroviruses that invade T-helper lymphocytes and are responsible for AIDS. There are two types of HIV: HIV-1 and HIV-2. HIV-1 is responsible for the vast majority of AIDS in the United States. activist community has watched with alarm as cross-border importation has created a growing and serious threat to affordable and timely access to badly needed medicines for Canadians living with HIV/AIDS. Cross-border importation is leading to increased pressure on Canada to dismantle its drug pricing regulation system." BCPWA BCPWA British Columbia Persons with AIDS Society (Vancouver) Chair Glen Bradford noted that even though Abbott Laboratories Abbott Laboratories (NYSE: ABT) is a diversified pharmaceuticals and health care company. It has over 65,000 employees and operates in 130 countries. The corporate headquarters are in Abbott Park, Illinois, a neighborhood of North Chicago, Illinois. has had "a history of substantial support for BCPWA'S programs and services," the organization "will not be accepting any further grants or donations from them until they roll back the prices in both the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. and Canada," which will cost BCPWA about $30,000 this year alone. In addition to calls to boycott Abbott, other participating organizations in CTAC also issued warnings to Canadians about the effect of cross-border pharmacies on the availability of drugs in Canada. A New Brunswick pharmacist, Stephen Thompson said that the quota system imposed on pharmacies by drug companies has lead to pharmacies across Canada experiencing "shortages of life-saving and life-enhancing medications." "Cross-border internet sales are threatening the very fabric of Canada's public approach to health care," Thompson said. Other organizations that are supporting CTAC'S and BCPWA'S demands include Arthritis Consumer Experts, Canadian Haemophilia Society, Canadian Organization for Rare Disorders and Consumer Advocate Network. 416-410-6538 |
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