Urging the GlaxoSmithKline Corporation to resume prescription drug deliveries to Canadian-based mail-order pharmacies.

WHEREAS, Americans are forced to pay prescription drug prices which far exceed those in any other nations; and

WHEREAS, These extraordinarily high prices have a severe economic impact on Philadelphians especially our senior citizens, who are least able to afford the costs of essential & life-saving medications; and

WHEREAS, Canadian pharmacies are a critical resource for Philadelphians to purchase prescription drugs who can pay up to 80 percent less than in comparable pharmacies within the United States. As an illustration, consumers can save 93% from Canadian pharmacies on the cost of Tamoxifin, an effective breast cancer drug; and

WHEREAS, Canada has established and instituted price control measures to ensure prescription drugs are affordable to those in need; and

WHEREAS, One of the major suppliers to Canadian-based mail-order pharmacies is the British GlaxoSmithKline Corporation, the world's second largest drug manufacturer, whose total annual sales for the most recently measured 12-month period were $29.5 billion; and

WHEREAS, On January 21, 2003, GlaxoSmithKline suspended all shipments of prescription drugs to these Canadian pharmacies, including popular medications such as the anti-depressant Paxil and the allergy drug Flonase; and

WHEREAS, This suspension will severely affect the medical needs of many Philadelphians including an estimated 9000 Philadelphia Senior Citizens that order prescription drugs from Canadian pharmacies is according to the International Association of Canadian Pharmacists; and

WHEREAS, GlaxoSmithKline is also the manufacturer of many popular nonprescription consumer products, including Tumas antacid, Contac cold medicine, Sominex sleep aid, Citrucel fiber supplement, and Aquafresh toothpaste; and

WHEREAS, In an effort to get the GlaxoSmithKline corporation to reconsider its suspension of prescription deliveries to Canadian pharmacies, many local senior citizen organizations are participating in the "Tums Down" boycott of GlaxoSmithKline's products; and

WHEREAS, The assertion by GlaxoSmithKline officials that the purchase of prescription drugs from Canadian pharmacies by Americans may violate United States drug laws is directly contradicted by repeated assurances from U.S. Food and Drug Administration officials that individuals importing prescription drugs from Canada, for exclusively personal use, have no need to fear that the federal government will interfere in their Canadian drug purchases; and

WHEREAS, Canadian Pharmaceutical companies must meet strict regulatory standards comparable to those required by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration; and

WHEREAS, GlaxoSmithKline's unabashed fidelity to financial gain at the expense of some of Philadelphia's most vulnerable populations directly contravenes the company's stated mission of improving the quality of human life and safeguarding public health; and

WHEREAS, It is imperative that GlaxoSmithKline resume its shipments of prescription drugs to Canadian pharmacies; now therefore

RESOLVED, THAT THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA, Urges the GlaxoSmithKline Corporation to reconsider its actions and do all it can to resume prescription drug deliveries to Canadian pharmacies suspended as of January 21, 2003.

FURTHER RESOLVED, That a copy of this resolution be sent to the leadership of the GlaxoSmithKline Corporation in Philadelphia, to our Congressional delegation and the Action Alliance of Senior Citizens of Greater Philadelphia as a representation of the sincere sentiments of this legislative body.

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