-Caveat Lector-
[I seriously thought this was from the Onion at first! Kelly]
http://www.nationalpost.com/
January 31, 2001
Sales to stop as morning-after pill proves a flop
Minuscule demand
Mary Vallis
National Post
A British pharmaceutical company is discontinuing sales of its so-called
morning-after pill in Canada because not enough women are buying
it.
Shire Inc. has sold less than 10% of its Preven emergency
contraceptive kits since the product first hit Canadian pharmacies in
October, 1999, even though the company slashed its price from $22
to $5 last year.
"This is a huge disappointment for me," Joseph Rus, chief executive
officer of Shire Canada Inc., the company's Canadian subsidiary, said
yesterday. "I'm totally puzzled ... I'm just not sure if there's
anything at all that I could have done differently."
[Perhaps he should advocate a Just say No to Condoms campaign!]
Preven, the first morning-after pill to become available in Canada,
became part of the debate over when human life begins.
Anti-abortion groups say the drug is the equivalent of an early
abortion because it can prevent a fertilized egg from implanting in the
wall of the uterus. Preven's supporters argue it works as a
contraceptive because it prevents pregnancies but does not affect
fertilized eggs already lodged in the uterine wall.
According to IMS Health, an independent organization that tracks
drug sales, national sales of Preven peaked in retail pharmacies in
July, 2000, when an estimated 684 kits were sold.
Mr. Rus expects the company to lose $1.5-million on unsold kits, which
will expire in storage without reaching pharmacy shelves.
The reasons for the pill's failure are a mystery, Mr. Rus said. It had
the support of Planned Parenthood and the Society of Obstetricians
and Gynaecologists.
Mr. Rus said many factors could have contributed to the product's
poor sales. A lack of awareness among women, the unwillingness of
doctors to prescribe it and the vocal resistance of anti-abortion
groups are all potential factors, he said.
"This is unfortunate news," Thirza Smith, president of the Society of
Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada, said from
Saskatchewan. "There is no reason why emergency contraception
should not be more readily available."
John Hof, president of the B.C. branch of Campaign Life Coalition, said
he worries Shire may not be telling the whole story.
"All over the world, there's a push on to make the morning-after pill
available in schools, in Planned Parenthood clinics, in every pharmacy
-- Britain, the United States and France are all pushing the
morning-after pill," he said.
"And now Shire can't sell it? There's got to be a reason."
The Preven kit includes a pregnancy test, sets of pills to be taken 12
hours apart and an instruction booklet. The first set of drugs can be
taken up to 72 hours after unprotected sex.
News of Preven's discontinuation reached Canadian pharmacists this
week through a company posting in a national industry newsletter. It
comes months after a Montreal company launched another
morning-after pill called Plan B.
Morning-after pills have been available to women in British Columbia
without a doctor's prescription since last fall. There, pharmacists,
using their own discretion, can give the drug to women.
Some pharmacists, however, are torn over whether they should
distribute the pills, claiming they do not want to enter the moral and
ethical fray surrounding emergency contraception.
"A lot of us do not feel it is our job to help a woman end a
pregnancy," said Cristina Alarcon of B.C. Pharmacists for Conscience.
Controversy over the product is raging worldwide.
In the United States, Wal-Mart has refused to sell the kit.
And this week, Britain's House of Lords rejected an attempt to ban
over-the-counter sales of the morning-after pills.
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