Consumer Boycott of Glaxo Gains Steam With Protest by Seniors

Some parts of this story came from reports by Reuters and the Los Angeles Times.

Feb. 21, 2003 – The efforts by some consumer groups – primarily representing senior citizens and AIDS groups – to boycott GlaxoSmithKline products gained new life yesterday with protests in several cities. The protestors are angered by the British drugmaker cutting off supplies to Canadian drugstores that ship medicine to the United States.

 Glaxo, whose prescription medicines include antidepressant Paxil and Advair for asthma, said in January it would stop supplying prescription drugs to Canadian online and mail-order pharmacies that sell them to U.S. consumers at prices of up to 50 percent lower than those charged in the United States. Some of their over-the-counter products include Tums antacid, Aquafresh toothpaste, Contac cold remedy

Canadian pharmacists who sell through the mail or over the Internet argue that about 1 million U.S. residents, mostly senior citizens, obtain drugs they otherwise could not afford through Canadian online mail-order pharmacies.

The boycott, called "Tums Down" after Glaxo's popular antacid Tums, kicked off with a news conference in St. Paul, Minnesota, by the Minnesota Senior Federation, working with other state-based consumer senior groups. There was a simultaneous protest rally outside one of Glaxo's U.S. headquarters in Philadelphia.

Last week, hundreds of groups began an e-mail and phone campaign urging U.S. consumers to stop buying Glaxo's over-the-counter products, said Pedro Rodriguez, who heads that city's Action Alliance of Senior Citizens.

"Glaxo has really picked a fight with the wrong group," Rodriguez said. "They have the money, but we have the people."

On Jan. 21, Glaxo stopped shipping its prescription drugs, including such popular medicines as the antidepressant Paxil and the allergy drug Flonase, to Canadian pharmacies. Shipments will not resume, the company said, until the pharmacies stop filling U.S. prescriptions. Patients could be putting themselves at risk from unsafe or counterfeit medicines that are not regulated by U.S. authorities, the company said.

"Regardless of what Glaxo says we all know the real reason. We are affecting their bloated profit margins," said Barbara Kaufman, president of the Minnesota senior group.

In addition to Minnesota, groups in New York, Pennsylvania, Maine, Massachusetts, Indiana, Vermont, New Hampshire, Wisconsin, Washington, Texas, and California are taking part in the boycott or are planning other actions against Glaxo. A news release by a Canadian company in support of the boycott is below this news report.

There are also Web sites springing up to support the protest, including this one by the New York Senior Action Council - http://www.nysenior.org/boycott.htm

The Vermont state senate on Thursday called on Glaxo to resume sales to Canadian pharmacies that sell to U.S. citizens.

In Wisconsin, U.S. Senator Russell Feingold introduced a bill in Congress to deny tax breaks to pharmaceutical companies that restrict shipments of drugs to Canadian mail-order companies.

The boycott leaders also said they have asked attorneys general in several states to take legal action against Glaxo.

U.S. Senator Mark Dayton, a Democrat from Minnesota, told the news conference that he would make a personal sacrifice and join the boycott. "I think if I stop using Tums there will be a noticeable drop in corporate sales," he joked.

"GlaxoSmithKline is about to learn what politicians have known for years: Don't get senior citizens mad at you," Dayton said.

The boycott does not include Glaxo's prescription drugs because organizers said any decisions on those medications should be between patients and their physicians. But by asking thousands of senior citizens to refrain from buying any of Glaxo's non-prescription products they hope to restore the flow of less expensive prescription medicines across the border.

In addition to Tums, Glaxo's non-prescription products include Aquafresh toothpaste, Citrucel fiber supplement, the Contac line of cold medicines, Aqua Velva after-shave, Sominex sleep aid, and Tegrin dandruff shampoo.

Tom Probst, who spoke at the news conference, highlighted the plight of fellow senior citizens.

He said Glaxo's asthma medicine had transformed his life. But he said it cost him $150 per month in the United States and half that much from Canada. "I'm either going to die of suffocation if don't take it or from a heart attack from writing checks to pay for it," he said.

John Lubelski, president of CanadaRx, a Canadian exporter that works with pharmacies, said supplies of Glaxo prescription medications available for shipment to the United States were fast running out. He said his organization has filed a formal request with the Canadian Competition Bureau asking them for a cease and desist order against Glaxo for restraining trade.

"I think this is going to have a real impact on getting this resolved," he said of the boycott.

News Release by "Stop Glaxo Now" Coalition; Canadameds.com

Philadelphia Seniors Organizations Protest Glaxo's Ban on Affordable Drugs

Many Seniors Would Be Unable to Afford Drugs Without Canada's Help, Says Canadian Pharmacy

Feb. 21, 2003 - Known as the "city of brotherly love," Philadelphia and its senior citizens aren't feeling much love lately for hometown pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline.

Angered by what they cite as the company's greed for higher sales and profits by cutting off seniors' supply to affordable Canadian drugs, the city's Action Alliance of Senior Citizens has teamed with Canadameds.com mail order pharmacy and 10 other organizations from across the U.S. and Canada to establish the "Stop Glaxo Now" Coalition which placed a full-page ad in the Philadelphia daily papers Wednesday. Run in the Philadelphia Inquirer and Daily News, the ad seeks the reversal of the ban by asking seniors to call their legislators, call Glaxo's customer service line, write the firm's CEO, switch from Glaxo over-the-counter products to those made by competitors, and to consider selling its stock.

On Thursday (Feb. 20), the Coalition expects to draw more than 100 seniors activists at a press conference and informational picket outside the company's Philadelphia headquarters at 16th and Vine. Speakers will include Alliance president Mamie E. Wiggins and Andrew Yan, a Canadameds pharmacist serving 9,000 Philadelphians.

"By its ban, Glaxo shows that it cares about one thing only -- lining their corporate coffers with greater sales and profits," said Wiggins.

A Canadian pharmacy representative agrees.

"With this ban, Glaxo shows clearly it could care less about the quality of patient care that Philadelphia seniors receive," said Andrew Yan of Canadameds, which serves many local Medicare patients, disabled, underinsured and uninsured people. "They would much rather strip seniors of this safe and low-cost source for drugs and force them to pay more money so that Glaxo and its big pharma friends can boost their corporate coffers. Enough is enough, Glaxo. Even a dollar or two higher price each month can make the difference whether a senior can afford their drugs each month."

Without Canadian pharmacies, Yan says that many seniors tell him that they would be unable to afford their drugs.

Glaxo says that its discounts on its medications can save consumers 40% or less off their drugs, an amount the company says is "equivalent" to discounts offered in Canada.

Wiggins says that Glaxo is wrong. For example, Glaxo's asthma drug Flovent is 50% off at Canadameds.com in comparison to U.S. pharmacies. And most other drugs sold in Canada are sold at more than 40% savings.

The Philadelphia ad is the second one to be published by the group after an initial ad was placed in the New York Times on Feb. 12. The Coalition says that this is just the beginning of its national outreach effort to inform seniors and give them resources to take action. To see the latest ad, visit www.canadameds.com .

Other Coalition members include: National Legislative Association for Prescription Drug Pricing, a group comprised of U.S. legislators working to keep drug prices low, Senior Action Network, a senior advocacy organization in San Francisco; New York Statewide Senior Action Council, a senior advocacy group with members statewide; American Drug Club, a Canadian prescription service provider; AIDS Healthcare Foundation, the nation's largest AIDS organization, based in Los Angeles; the National Association of Retired and Veteran Railway Employees; the National Association for the Terminally Ill, a nonprofit group assisting those impacted by terminal illnesses; the Coalition for Access to Affordable Prescription Drugs, a Vermont-based advocacy group; and The Greenlining Institute, a multi-ethnic public policy and advocacy organization based in San Francisco.

U.S. & Canada Drug Price Comparisons

Largely because of drug price controls in Canada, prescription drugs are from 30 to 85 percent cheaper there than the U.S. While previously accessible to Americans living near the Canadian border or traveling there, now with mail order pharmacies and the Internet, any American can buy cheaper drugs from Canada at pharmacies with names like Canadameds.com, AmericanDrugClub.com, CrossBorderPharmacy.com and CanadaRx.com.

To get an idea of price differences, review these costs on commonly taken prescription drugs:

             Prescription Drug Price Comparisons: U.S. and Canada

     DRUG                          CVS.COM      CANADAMEDS.COM       SAVINGS

                                    (U.S.)          (Can.)

     Paxil (20mg/100 tablets

      anti-depressant)              $298.63         $165.74           45%

     Lipitor

      (20mg/90 tablets,

      cholesterol )                  307.99          161.78           48%

     Prevacid

      (30mg/100 tablets,

      heartburn)                     449.96          173.64           62%

     Celebrex

      (100mg/100 tablets,

      arthritis)                     175.30           64.04           64%

     Glucophage

      (850mg/100 tablets,

      diabetes)                      132.05           36.09           73%

     Tamoxifen

      (20mg/60 tablets,

      breast cancer)                 233.98           29.20           87%

    (All prices in $US and exclude shipping costs.  Sources: www.cvs.com ,

    www.canadameds.com as of 2/18/03. CVS.com charges a $1.95 standard

    delivery charge.  Canadameds.com charges US$13.00 delivery fee per

    package; not per drug.)

    Fast Facts

    * Drug expenses have been one of the fastest growing healthcare costs,

      having climbed more than 17 percent annually from 1998 to 2001.

      (National Institute for Healthcare Management Foundation)

    * More than 1 in 5 American adults didn't take their drugs as prescribed

      in the past year because of the cost.  This figure rose as high as 40

      percent for those in need, including the disabled, minorities and low-

      income.  (Harris Interactive national survey, 2001)

    * Drug companies use consumers and other revenue sources to cover their

      operating costs.  At GlaxoSmithKline, these costs include a

      US$20.79 million annual salary and options paid to CEO Jean-Pierre

      Garnier, according to The London Observer newspaper.  Plus, the

      company spent $420 million in direct-to-consumer marketing in 2000, the

      highest promotional budget of all major drug companies, says IMS Health

      pharmaceutical information provider.

    * GlaxoSmithKline reported year 2002 pharmaceutical sales grew 8% to

      nearly $27 billion and net profit before tax was $9.7 billion.  In the

      United States, which represents 54% of the company's total business,

      sales grew 13%, says Glaxo.  The drug industry has been at or near the

      top of the most profitable industries in the U.S. for more than three

      decades, according to the Public Citizen national watchdog group.

Source: "Stop Glaxo Now" Coalition; Canadameds.com