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<font face="Verdana">This is my question to all ICANN-ist here, that
great multistakeholder body supposed to be representing the global
interest.<br>
<br>
Why should the question of who is a legitimate actor for online
medicine trade be decided by the US pharma industry, the most
despised actor among public health practitioners and actors for
trying to maintain unaffordably high prices for medicines the
world over, and suppressing manufacture and trade of the much much
cheaper generic dyrugs (in which, India is incidently a big
players).<br>
<br>
Why should ICANN become a lever in the hands of big pharma?<br>
<br>
Why cannot for instance WHO manage .pharmacy? <br>
<br>
Social activists from developing countries protest this outrage.
Such things cannot be allowed. <br>
<br>
parminder <br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
</font>
<div class="moz-cite-prefix">On Monday 21 July 2014 08:50 PM,
parminder wrote:<br>
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<h2 class="western" style="font-weight: normal"><font size="3">US
pharma industry takes up new levers to control global trade in
medicines. (Dont be surprised if sale generic drugs is
suppressed and medicine price soars). parminder<br>
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<h2 class="posttitle"><small><small><a moz-do-not-send="true"
class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="http://www.ip-watch.org/2014/07/21/can-the-dot-pharmacy-new-generic-domain-name-be-impartial/?utm_source=IP-Watch+Subscribers&utm_campaign=f51d53bf4b-DAILY_SUMMARY&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_b78685696b-f51d53bf4b-352131825">http://www.ip-watch.org/2014/07/21/can-the-dot-pharmacy-new-generic-domain-name-be-impartial/?utm_source=IP-Watch+Subscribers&utm_campaign=f51d53bf4b-DAILY_SUMMARY&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_b78685696b-f51d53bf4b-352131825</a>
</small></small><br>
</h2>
<h2 class="posttitle">Can The Dot Pharmacy New Generic Domain Be
Impartial? </h2>
<p>By <a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://www.ip-watch.org/author/catherine/" title="Posts
by Catherine Saez" rel="author">Catherine Saez</a> and <a
moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://www.ip-watch.org/author/william/" title="Posts by
William New" rel="author">William New</a>, Intellectual
Property Watch</p>
<p>New generic top-level domain names seem set to be a constant
source of discussions and dissension. The domain “.pharmacy” has
been awarded to a United States pharmacy association with
industry backing, stirring concerns among civil society and
others. But the association insists it will work in an impartial
manner to ensure safety of online pharmaceutical sales. <span
id="more-36801"></span></p>
<p>The National Association of Boards of Pharmacy (NABP) announced
in June that the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and
Numbers (ICANN) decided upon NABP becoming the registry operator
of the new “.pharmacy” domain.</p>
<p>This “will soon provide a means for identifying safe online
pharmacies and resources,” <a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="https://www.nabp.net/news/nabp-executes-registry-agreement-with-icann-for-pharmacy-domain--2">according
to NABP</a>, which adds that under the agreement with ICANN,
the new generic top-level domain (gTLD) “will be available only
to legitimate online pharmacies and related entities located in
the United States or other countries.”</p>
<p>The pharmacy gTLD is expected to be launched by NABP by autumn
2014.</p>
<p>However, according to Gabriel Levitt, vice-president of the
company <a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="https://www.pharmacychecker.com/">PharmacyChecker.com</a>,
the main funders of the NABP application are Eli Lily, Merck and
Pfizer, as shown on NABP “<a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="https://www.nabp.net/programs/pharmacy/pharmacy-and-nabp/coalition-support">coalition
support</a>” web page.</p>
<p>The NABP application for the .pharmacy domain has been
challenged in the past at ICANN by several groups, such as <a
moz-do-not-send="true"
href="https://gtldcomment.icann.org/comments-feedback/applicationcomment/commentdetails/12145">Public
Citizen</a>, <a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="https://gtldcomment.icann.org/comments-feedback/applicationcomment/commentdetails/12168">Knowledge
Ecology International</a>, and the <a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="https://gtldcomment.icann.org/comments-feedback/applicationcomment/commentdetails/12174">Canadian
International Pharmacy Association</a>.</p>
<p>According to Levitt, NABP “is apparently going much further
than just creating rules for online pharmacies” as it “will also
decide which companies, advocacy groups and other entities –
such as those advocating policies to expand access to affordable
medications – can obtain the .pharmacy domain ending,” he said.</p>
<p>“NABP will become a global ICANN registry, dominated by an
American pharmacy board association, funded by the big three
drug companies,” he alleged.</p>
<p>In a <a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://newgtlds.icann.org/sites/default/files/applicants/23may13/gac-advice-response-1-1040-55064-en.pdf"
target="_blank">response</a> [pdf] to the ICANN Government
Advisory Committee (GAC), the NABP sought to settle concerns,
arguing that it is “an impartial professional organization that
supports the state boards of pharmacy in creating uniform
regulations to protect public health,” and that it will work
through an advisory committee with members of the pharmacy
community to develop standards of operation for all domain
registrants. </p>
<p>The vast majority of websites currently selling pharmaceuticals
online are doing so illegally, the response states. </p>
<p>“NABP plans to operate .PHARMACY in line with [its] core
mission of promoting public health and patient safety,” and will
operate it using a “tightly controlled registration policy”
restricting second-level registrations to the domain to licensed
pharmacies and “prescription drug-related entities that are in
good standing and in compliance with all applicable laws in the
jurisdictions in which they dispense, ship or sell medications
and that agree to conduct business according to all standards of
operation.” </p>
<p> </p>
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