MERCK & CO. HALTS SUPPLIES TO SOME CANADIAN PHARMACIES

US drug major Merck & Co. has announced that its Canadian unit, Merck Frosst, will no longer supply local pharmacies it believes to be engaged in the country's lucrative export trade with the US. The company now joins a growing list of drugmakers to pronounce on the issue since US drug major Pfizer ended supplies to some Canadian pharmacies in February 2004.

The US drug producer has meanwhile insisted that the trade carries significant health risks due to alleged lack of quality controls. Merck & Co. also claims that its essential drugs supplied under the US Medicaid programme are competitively priced in relation to Canadian-based internet pharmacies.

Nevertheless, Merck & Co.'s move comes as calls grow for Canada to continue the practice in the face of growing pressure from US government sources. Governors of six US states recently claimed that the trade, which exploits Canada's stringent drug price controls, has become a "life and death" matter for many US patients. Meanwhile, the Canadian government continues to consider new draft regulations that would seek to penalise Canadian doctors who sign prescriptions for patients they have not physically examined. The controversial proposals would also prohibit doctors from signing prescriptions for patients who are not physically present in Canada, as well as preventing the export of certain drugs.