LEADING CANADIAN MAIL ORDER PHARMACY CANADAMEDS.COM ISSUES CHALLENGE TO AMERICAN CITIZENS AND U.S. GOVERNMENT ON NEW WEBSITE

FDA supervisors had attempted to suppress a report by Dr. David Graham, associate director of the FDA's own Office of Drug Safety, showing that patients taking Vioxx suffered five times as many heart attacks as patients taking another pain reliever, naproxen. (June 12, 2005 - The Independent)

Just follow the money from the pharmaceutical companies and you will see Bush sign a Medicare reform act that prohibits Medicare to negotiate the price of drugs and prohibits seniors from going to Canada to buy drugs. (August 31, 2005 - News-Leader.com)
A recent study revealed that two-thirds of the scientists at the FDA lack confidence in the agency's ability to monitor drug safety. (Record Online - December 28, 2004)

Congress should revamp the FDA's drug approval process and beef up its oversight powers. An independent, more assertive arm of the agency to gauge a new drug's efficacy ought to be considered. The FDA must be an effective regulator, not a rubber stamp for pharmaceutical companies seeking quick approval for block-buster drugs that will bring in big profits. (Everything Michigan - December 28, 2004)

An internal FDA survey made public last week found that one-sixth of nearly 400 scientists said they had been pressured to approve drugs despite doubts about safety, effectiveness or quality. (Baltimore Sun - December 23, 2004)

The drug reps depend on the doctors, who are then rewarded for their loyalty. The politicians and the drug manufacturers depend upon one another, the former for cash and the latter protection. (American Daily - December 16, 2004)

Since Bush took office, the number of Americans without health insurance has climbed by 4 million, to nearly 44 million, (Associated Press - August 23, 2004.)

The government yesterday August 4, 2004 refused to override patents on the AIDS drug Norvir, effectively allowing a quintupling of the price to stand despite a consumer groups' accusations of price gouging. This allowed Abbott Laboratories to increase the price of the 8year old Norvir to $8.57 a day from $1.71 late last year. (Cape Cod Times August 5, 2004)

At present, about 43 million Americans have no health insurance coverage. This is more than the entire population of Canada.(Washington Post August 3, 2004)

The Bush administration has steadfastly opposed any plan that would allow U.S. consumers to buy drugs abroad. (The Miami Herald August 4, 2004)

Tucked away in a freetrade agreement with Australia is a provision that would bar the reimportation of U.S. manufactured drugs from Australia, where they are significantly cheaper than in Canada. This is not a question of free trade. It is a question of ignoring the public good to placate the pharmaceutical industry, which has made $60 million in political contributions, primarily to Republicans, over the past three years.(Buffalo News July 22, 2004)

Pfizer's chief executive Hank McKinnell, is one of Bush's biggest fundraisers. (Bloomberg News August 3, 2004)

A scandal erupted this year when Medicare's chief actuary said he was barred from telling Congress that his estimates of the Medicare bill were $134 billion higher than the Congressional Budget Office's. It is unclear whether the bill would have passed if that information was widely available. (Reuters July 14, 2004)

Bush was not a supporter of the Medicare prescription drug benefit until it became apparent that almost 80% of Americans were supporters, they were not going to give up, and failure of Bush to support it was political suicide for the president and fellow Republicans. The $530 billion cost is a third more than the Bush administration estimated for Congress as our senators and representatives deliberated the measure, and some estimates place its costs over the next 10 years at closer to $1 trillion. It is unlikely that Congress would have approved the benefit had it known its true cost, a cost that the Bush administration hid in part by threatening to fire Medicare's chief financial analyst if he told Congress what he believed the real cost to be. The real cost was revealed two months after Congress voted the benefit into law.Thesecosts willmost likely be passed on to the American taxpayer.(Bangor Daily News August 3, 2004)

The Medicare drug discount cards are tricky. The discounts vary, depending on the drug, the card sponsor and the pharmacy where the medications are purchased. What's more, companies that offer the cards can change their drug list and the discounts, but enrolees can only get one card in a calendar year. The government projected that 7.4 million of the nation's 41 million Medicare beneficiaries would apply for a card, but so far only 3.9 million seniors have enrolled, about half of those were automatically enrolled under their own private health plans. (Buffalo News July 26, 2004)
New government estimates suggest that employers will reduce or eliminate prescription drug benefits for 3.8 million retirees when Medicare offers such coverage in 2006. No aspect of the new Medicare law causes more concern among retirees than the possibility that they might lose benefits they already have. (New York Times July 14, 2004)

At present, about 43 million Americans have no health insurance coverage. This is more than the entire population of Canada.(Washington Post – August 3, 2004)

The government yesterday August 4, 2004 refused to override patents on the AIDS drug Norvir, effectively allowing a quintupling of the price to stand despite a consumer groups’ accusations of price gouging. This allowed Abbott Laboratories to increase the price of the 8–year old Norvir to $8.57 a day from $1.71 late last year. (Cape Cod Times – August 5, 2004)