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Titled 'Rx'. (as in a doctor's prescription), the picture will examine the conflicts and underpinnings of the multibillion-dollar international pharmaceutical drug business. As yet, no acting talent is attached to the pic as yet.
Penning the screenplay is writer Daniel Therriault, who wrote the HBO telepic 'Witness Protection' (1999), starring Tom Sizemore , and the 1997 picture 'First Time Felon', with Omar Epps and Delroy Lindo.
Joe Stephens, the journalist who covers the pharmaceutical beat at the Washington Post, has been hired as a consultant to the project. (Stephens has written extensively on both the business and seemier sides of the pharmaceutical business.
In 2001, Stephens began covering a lawsuit against Pfizer, the world's largest drug maker. The company was sued on behalf of 30 Nigerian families who contended that the company violated international law during a 1996 meningitis epidemic by experimenting on children without their knowledge or consent.)
Bickford was quick to caution that while 'Rx'. will probably feature a multiple character point-of-view storyline and cross national borders in the manner of 'Traffic', the differences in the subject matter are sharp.
'The story of the business of legal pharmaceuticals could not be more different from the illegal drug business', Bickford told Daily Variety. 'You're not telling the story of cops and robbers and kids overdosing; you're talking about saving people's lives while trying to make a lot of money at the same time. About the only thing they have in common is that both businesses affect absolutely everyone's lives'.
No domestic distribution is in place for the picture, which is set up at BBC Films. Bickford does have a first-look production deal at Universal Pictures, where she is also developing 'Bounty', based on Chris Sarracini's graphic novel, and 'Mata Hari', an original script based on Tatiana Blackington's tale of the life of the notorious spy shot for spying for the Germans during WWI.
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