Wednesday, January 05, 2005
Canadian supply lines may be cut
[Peter Wallsten, "Canada May Alter Its Policy on Sale of Drugs," The Los Angeles Times, 5 January 2005.]
Speculation has been floating around for months now that either drug companies would stop shipping so many drugs to Canada or Canada would stop shipping so many drugs to the U.S. Drug companies have implemented some minor restrictions, but news just hit that Canada is considering preventing pharmacies from selling to customers abroad altogether:
Canada might soon prohibit pharmacies from selling prescription drugs to mail-order customers — a move that would cut off a market that is increasingly popular with U.S. seniors eager to take advantage of Canadian price controls that make drugs there far cheaper than at home.
It is technically illegal for Americans to import drugs from abroad, but they do so anyhow in big quantities — about 10 million shipments a year, valued at $1.5 billion. Half of that business is from Canada.
Residents of other industrialized countries pay less for pharmaceuticals because those governments enact price controls, limiting what drug makers can charge.
Drugs from Canada, for instance, cost about 40% of their price in the United States.
That's brand-name drugs, of course, not generics. In any case, this move may stave off a policy clash between the U.S. and Canada, but it will likely only exacerbate the safety issue as Americans shift their attention elsewhere for prescription drugs. The drug issue requires some serious thinking on the part of policymakers before it will be adequately resolved.
[Matthew Hisrich, "Sebelius Is Practicing Black-Market Politics," The Wichita Eagle, 10 December 2004.]
[Peter Wallsten, "Canada May Alter Its Policy on Sale of Drugs," The Los Angeles Times, 5 January 2005.]
Speculation has been floating around for months now that either drug companies would stop shipping so many drugs to Canada or Canada would stop shipping so many drugs to the U.S. Drug companies have implemented some minor restrictions, but news just hit that Canada is considering preventing pharmacies from selling to customers abroad altogether:
Canada might soon prohibit pharmacies from selling prescription drugs to mail-order customers — a move that would cut off a market that is increasingly popular with U.S. seniors eager to take advantage of Canadian price controls that make drugs there far cheaper than at home.
It is technically illegal for Americans to import drugs from abroad, but they do so anyhow in big quantities — about 10 million shipments a year, valued at $1.5 billion. Half of that business is from Canada.
Residents of other industrialized countries pay less for pharmaceuticals because those governments enact price controls, limiting what drug makers can charge.
Drugs from Canada, for instance, cost about 40% of their price in the United States.
That's brand-name drugs, of course, not generics. In any case, this move may stave off a policy clash between the U.S. and Canada, but it will likely only exacerbate the safety issue as Americans shift their attention elsewhere for prescription drugs. The drug issue requires some serious thinking on the part of policymakers before it will be adequately resolved.
[Matthew Hisrich, "Sebelius Is Practicing Black-Market Politics," The Wichita Eagle, 10 December 2004.]
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