Seizes Some Drug Orders From I-SaveRX


CHICAGO - The Food and Drug Administration (news - web sites) has seized prescription drug orders sent from abroad to more than 50 customers of I-SaveRx, a multistate program to import cheaper prescription drugs from Europe and Canada.



The drugs, which were stopped at airports, included cholesterol lowering Lipitor (news - web sites) and bone-strengthening Fosamax. Customers learned of the seizure through letters from the FDA (news - web sites), which said the drugs did not have the proper labeling or were not federally approved.


FDA Associate Commissioner William Hubbard denied that the agency, which opposes drug imports, stopped the shipments in an effort to shut down I-SaveRx. He said the agency has always seized high-risk drugs that can easily be counterfeit, such as Lipitor.


Gov. Rod Blagojevich launched I-SaveRx last year to help participants save money on prescription drugs. It uses a Canada-based clearinghouse, CanaRx, to connect residents of Illinois, Kansas, Missouri and Wisconsin to pharmacies and wholesalers in Canada, Ireland and the United Kingdom. The FDA opposes the importation, saying it can't ensure the safety of the drugs.


G. Anthony Howard of CanaRx Services Inc. said 54 I-SaveRx customers had drugs seized during the end of January and beginning of February. "The average age is over 70, they're all uninsured and they all need these medications," he said.


Howard said CanaRx has sent replacement drugs to affected customers.


"I don't really know what's going on other than the fact that it appears somebody's putting pressure on the idea of importing drugs," said Robert Wuerth, 79, a retired regional sales administrator who has had two heart bypass operations. After his three-month supply of Lipitor was confiscated, he got a replacement order in three days.


Blagojevich spokeswoman Abby Ottenhoff said 4,700 orders have been processed through I-SaveRx.