Pfizer, Microsoft File Lawsuits Against Web Sites Allegedly Selling Illegal Generic Viagra

Main Category: Erectile Dysfunction / Premature Ejaculation
Article Date: 13 Feb 2005 - 14:00 PST

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Pfizer and Microsoft have separately filed lawsuits against the operators of two Web sites that send spam e-mails with offers for allegedly illegal generic versions of the erectile dysfunction medication Viagra, officials for the companies announced on Thursday, the... New York Times reports. The Pfizer lawsuits, filed in New York, accuse the Web sites -- www.cndpharmacy.com and www.myepharmacydirect.com -- of violation of the company trademark and unfair competition. The Microsoft lawsuits, filed in Washington state, allege that the Web sites violated federal and state anti-spam laws. Beth Levine, general counsel for the Pfizer domestic pharmaceutical group, said that the company ordered medications from both Web sites. Although Pfizer did not test the medications to determine their content, Levine said that they could contain dangerous impurities (Hansell, New York Times, 2/11). Pfizer and Microsoft have jointly investigated the Web sites for seven months, but they have not found the identities of the operators (Rowland, Boston Globe, 2/11). As a result, Pfizer and Microsoft filed the lawsuits against unnamed defendants, a move that allows the companies to subpoena records from credit card companies and Internet service providers to determine the identities of the defendants (New York Times, 2/11). The joint investigation has found that CanadianPharmacy, the name used by www.cndpharmacy.com, receives orders in New York, sends them to a call center in Canada and fills orders in India (Won Tesoriero, Wall Street Journal, 2/11). FDA Associate Commissioner of Policy and Planning William Hubbard said that the agency has shut down a number of U.S. Web sites that illegally distribute prescription drugs and has coordinated with foreign authorities to address the issue abroad. However, he said that the problem is difficult to control (New York Times, 2/11).

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