Monday, May 17, 2004
Canada will not be able to supply U.S. drug needs
[Julie Appleby, "U.S. drug needs would overwhelm Canada," USA Today, 16 May 2004.]
Those looking to Canada to solve price issues in the United States are likely to be disappointed. That's the conclusion of a new report released today. Canada is a relatively small market, and cannot support the demand in the U.S. If advocates of such a move assume that American pharmaceutical companies will simply increase the supply in Canada to accomodate U.S. importers, they are equally mistaken, as some firms are already moving to restrict supply.
Canada has doubled its imports of prescription drugs since 1999 — a period that saw U.S. residents increasingly buying drugs from Canada — and would be unable to meet the demand created if U.S. law allowed greater access.
That's the conclusion of a University of Texas-Austin researcher, who studied the issue at the request of two congressmen, using government data from both countries. The study, out Monday, attempts to quantify the potential impact of U.S. demand for pharmaceuticals on Canada and will likely spur further debate about opening U.S. borders to medications from abroad.
The report finds:
• If all U.S. residents bought their prescription drugs from Canada, that nation's supply would be exhausted in 38 days.
• If just half of the elderly in the USA were to buy drugs from Canada, it would have to boost its drug supply by 2.5 times.
[Julie Appleby, "U.S. drug needs would overwhelm Canada," USA Today, 16 May 2004.]
Those looking to Canada to solve price issues in the United States are likely to be disappointed. That's the conclusion of a new report released today. Canada is a relatively small market, and cannot support the demand in the U.S. If advocates of such a move assume that American pharmaceutical companies will simply increase the supply in Canada to accomodate U.S. importers, they are equally mistaken, as some firms are already moving to restrict supply.
Canada has doubled its imports of prescription drugs since 1999 — a period that saw U.S. residents increasingly buying drugs from Canada — and would be unable to meet the demand created if U.S. law allowed greater access.
That's the conclusion of a University of Texas-Austin researcher, who studied the issue at the request of two congressmen, using government data from both countries. The study, out Monday, attempts to quantify the potential impact of U.S. demand for pharmaceuticals on Canada and will likely spur further debate about opening U.S. borders to medications from abroad.
The report finds:
• If all U.S. residents bought their prescription drugs from Canada, that nation's supply would be exhausted in 38 days.
• If just half of the elderly in the USA were to buy drugs from Canada, it would have to boost its drug supply by 2.5 times.
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