I love people and I hate cancer and suffering. A cancer patient's life in Tanzania, Brazil, Colombia, or Myanmar is just as precious and valuable as a cancer patient's life in Pittsburgh, Tampa, or Richmond.

I've thought about this long and hard and I have registered as a for-profit company with the IRS. My company is loosely patterned after Mark Cuban and Dr. Oshmyansky's Costplusdrugs.com. I feel that I would be at a disadvantage against for-profit companies if I couldn't spend money to hire and retain the best people. I currently do not take a salary or any distribution from the company.

We are blessed in the US to have many, sometimes competing, health care systems that provide excellent care to all people in our country, including non-citizens. Every health system I have worked in (thank you UPMC, Baycare and VCU) has provided complete cancer care without regard to cost and without significant delay. While I'm not pleased with the price of some of the treatments here in the US, the regulatory requirements are such that I do not have the time, resources or expertise to operate and compete in the US. To put it another way, the US doesn't currently need help and they have enough resources.

Production of pharmaceutical grade drugs requires clean rooms, armies of chemists, technicians, lawyers, and others. I feel the manufacturers do a great job. I am concerned that the profit margin that distributors have both domestically and internationally is too high and I would like to provide the lowest cost generic drugs that I can by having a very low overhead and very low operating budget.

No, I don't need donations. I am running a for profit company so the proceeds pay for my costs. If you have money that you want to donate to a cancer center in a low resource country, please consider donating to this hospital.

My company doesn't need a corporate jet. Or a lavish Christmas party. Or a commercial building in Manhattan and Zurich. We are lean.

We accept payment in US dollars or the local currency using the prevailing exchange rate listed on our website on the date of order. For public cancer hospitals or bulk purchasing by governments, the terms are net 60. For private hospitals and clinics, the terms are 50% at the time the order is placed with the remainder due in 30 days.

I have done this a few times. Most countries have realized two things: 1) There is a shortage of low priced generic chemotherapy, especially in the rural parts of low and middle income countries. But also, 2) There are counterfeit chemotherapy drugs that are on the black market.The national government and local pharmacists of each country rightfully want to inspect and register these drugs even if they are shipped from the US supply line and many want certificates of analysis(COA) from the manufacturer as well as good manufactring practices (GMP) certificates. A government's drug authority may also want to visit the manufacturing plant.

The better long term strategy is to open up a physical presence in the country, conforming to all of the national regulations and then import into that country. This is my current strategy. Once there is a presence in the country with compliance with all of the rules of law, distribution by mail inside the country is reasonable for small quantities. If there is a need in your country, please contact me.

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