Viagra spammers sued

Chemistry and Industry, Feb 21, 2005

Website owners selling generic versions of Viagra (sildenafil) are facing a massive legal action aimed at forcing them out of business. Pfizer and Microsoft have launched lawsuits against drug distributors CanadianPharmacy and E-Pharmacy Direct, and the 'spammers' who send millions of unsolicited e-mails directing recipients to the companies' many websites.

Customer orders are accepted via computers in New York, but are fulfilled in India with 'illegal, unregulated and unapproved products', said Pfizer. Pfizer and Microsoft hope to discover the identities of those running the websites by serving subpoenas on their internet service providers.