by Tod Cooperman, MD, President, PharmacyChecker.com, and Gabriel Levitt, Vice President, PharmacyChecker.com | Sep 21, 2010 | Online Pharmacies
The letter below is an updated version of the one mailed on September 13th.
September 13th, 2010
Mr. John O. Jeffery
General Counsel
Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers
4676 Admiralty Way, Suite 330
Marina del Rey, CA 90292-6601
RE: White House meeting to discuss online pharmacies
Dear John –
We are the president and vice president of PharmacyChecker.com, the leading online verification company for U.S. and international online pharmacies. We learned recently of the White House meeting scheduled for September 29th intended to focus on “voluntary protocols to address the illegal online sale of counterfeit non-controlled prescription medication” (the “Meeting”).
The broader legal and policy issues affecting whether and when ICANN and its members should accede to government requests to deny or cancel domain name registrations is a very serious one for the future of the internet, and is generally beyond our purview. Our purpose is to set out for you and your members some considerations that should affect your evaluation of whatever may be presented at the Meeting. We request that you make this letter available to all members invited to or attending the Meeting. The letter is necessarily in summary form, and we would be pleased to provide upon request additional information that may assist you. (more…)
Tagged with: FDA, ICANN, John O. Jeffery, Joseph Biden, NABP, United States, voluntary agreements, White House
by Tod Cooperman, MD, President, PharmacyChecker.com, and Gabriel Levitt, Vice President, PharmacyChecker.com | Sep 16, 2010 | Big Pharma
Today we asked the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform and any other appropriate government agencies to investigate possible violations of government ethics laws by John Horton, president and founder of LegitScript.com, while he was Associate Deputy Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) and after leaving his government post.
Our request was sent to Committee Chairman Edolphus Towns and Ranking Member Darrell Issa.
Mr. Horton appears to have misused and abused his government position for private gain by starting, while in office, an online pharmacy verification service, LegitScript.com, and given unfair market advantage to his business. More importantly, his actions appear to have violated the will of Congress, misled the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, and instigated and/or encouraged government actions by ONDCP and other government agencies adverse to the interests of Americans, specifically hindering access by Americans to safe and affordable medication.
As further described in our letter, we believe that, to serve his private interests and those of prospective pharmaceutical and pharmacy clients, Mr. Horton appears to have subverted the activities of ONDCP by ignoring the congressional request found in Section 1107 of the Office of National Drug Control Policy Reauthorization Act of 2006 to develop strategies to stop the online advertising of controlled substances without a prescription. Instead, Mr. Horton developed strategic policies for blocking the online advertising of all prescription medication from licensed Canadian and other non-US pharmacies that do require a prescription. Such pharmacies have been a lifeline to affordable medication for millions of Americans.
Click here to read the full request and view supporting exhibits.
Tagged with: committee on oversight and government reform, government ethics violations, investigation, john horton, LegitScript, ONDCP
by Tod Cooperman, MD, President, PharmacyChecker.com, and Gabriel Levitt, Vice President, PharmacyChecker.com | Jul 13, 2010 | Online Pharmacy Verification Services
The Partnership for Safe Medicines (PSM), a front group for the pharmaceutical industry, recently published a piece in which its vice president, Bryan Liang, conducted an interview with the Inspectorate of General Health in the Netherlands Antilles on the topic of free trade zones and pharmaceuticals sold through them.
While Dr. Liang attempted to paint a sinister picture of pharmacies in free trade zones, noting a potential to “assist foreign and suspect online sellers,” the Inspectorate gave a most positive description of the one and only operation under his purview that has been approved by PharmacyChecker.com. He stated: (more…)
Tagged with: Brian Liang, international pharmacies, Kathleen Sebelius, Online Pharmacy Verification Services, Partnership for Safe Medicines, safemedicines
