COURT ORDERS Rx DRUG IMPORTER TO HALT OPERATIONS

A federal court has ordered the operators of a prescription drug importation enterprise to send letters to customers notifying them that the business is illegal and that the safety, purity and efficacy of products sold by the company cannot be assured, according to the FDA.

The preliminary injunction, issued by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, grants the FDA inspection authority to prevent Canada Care Drugs, Claire Ruggiero and her daughter-in-law, Christine Ruggiero, from "causing the importation of drugs, receiving commissions from the importation of drugs, and advertising or promoting any importation service," the agency added.

The court order follows a civil lawsuit filed by the agency that seeks to enjoin Canada Care and the Ruggieros from indirectly or directly importing U.S-manufactured and unapproved foreign-made drugs into the U.S.

According to the FDA, Canada Care once was associated with Rx Depot, which the FDA claims illegally imported drugs until an order of preliminary injunction was entered against the company and its affiliates by the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma. Canada Care ended its affiliation with Rx Depot after the preliminary injunction was issued but continued to illegally import drugs into the U.S., the FDA said.

For more information, go to http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/ANSWERS/2004/ANS01337.html (http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/ANSWERS/2004/ANS01337.html).