Publications
Publications
- February 2005 (Revised April 2006)
- HBS Case Collection
Rx Depot: Importing Drugs from Canada
By: Debora L. Spar
Abstract
In 2002, a handful of entrepreneurs began to ship drugs from Canada into the United States, taking advantage of regulatory and price differentials across the neighboring countries. Using the Internet and a low-cost network of Canadian pharmacies, firms like Rx Depot allowed U.S. customers to order their prescription medications in the United States, purchase them at a substantial discount from prevailing U.S. prices, and deliver the medications directly to their homes. It was a powerful business model that made Rx Depot a prominent player. In November 2003, however, a U.S. court decreed that Rx Depot violated federal law. The company was forced to close, but its founder, Carl Moore, announced that he was ready to fight. Did Rx Depot simply breech U.S. laws of intellectual property? Or did its actions suggest that the laws were ready for change?
Keywords
Courts and Trials; Entrepreneurship; Intellectual Property; Laws and Statutes; Pharmaceutical Industry; Canada; United States
Citation
Spar, Debora L., and Adam Day. "Rx Depot: Importing Drugs from Canada." Harvard Business School Case 705-010, February 2005. (Revised April 2006.)