The FDA issued an import alert three weeks ago that essentially banned the import of the pills made in two of Apotex’s plants into the US. It is not clear if the recalled pills were affected by that ban.

The Apotex Inc. recall affects three products and “comes in light of Health Canada’s continuing inspections of Apotex manufacturing facilities in the Greater Toronto Area,” the health agency announced yesterday.

The affected products are apo-meloxicam, used in treatment of rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis; apo-ranitidine, used for treating excess stomach acid; and apo-amilzide, used for maintenance therapy of patients with liver cirrhosis.

The FDA has a strong reach into Canada’s prescription drug market, and non-compliance with their regulations can lead to serious penalties, such as this import ban, even though the company making the product is not technically subject to FDA regulations.

However, considering their customers are in the US, and all pharmaceuticals must adhere to the FDA’s strict standards, there’s no pill to remedy the pain Apotex will feel from import ban from the FDA.

Companies doing business with Apotex need to maintain compliance with this ban as well or they too will face import penalties.

Where will they park the bus?

Looks like I won’t be able to purchase a shiny new Sharp Aquos with my giftcard.

The US International Trade Commission has upheld a ban on imports of Sharp LCD screens and monitors. Competitor Samsung is claiming that Sharp is using their patented invention:

“In a notice posted on its Web site today, the ITC said unlicensed Sharp LCD devices, including display panels and modules, and LCD televisions made overseas that use Samsung’s patented invention should be banned from the U.S.

In its complaint, filed in December, Samsung named models in the Aquos line of high-definition TVs as among those made and sold by Sharp that violated the patent.

The ban is subject to review by President Obama, and the underlying patent case can be appealed to a U.S. court that specializes in patent law.”

The ban specifically relates to the patent referred to as “Liquid Crystal Display having wide viewing angle.” The commission has not yet issued a final ruling, but the Sharp Aquos may soon be in short supply here in the US – time to stock up?

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