Crossing the border for drugs

[Brill]

I was reading an article in the AARP newsletter about how more and more people are going north to Canada to buy their prescription drugs because, unlike the US, Canada has price limits on drugs so consumers can usually get them much cheaper there than in the US (there are also a lot of online pharmacies based outside the US selling drugs this way). According to the article, purchasing drugs like this is technically illegal, but in practice people have been allowed to buy 90-day supplies of prescription drugs in this manner. There are also some lawmakers pushing to make the practice of buying drugs outside the US legal. Some major pharmaceutical companies are now beginning to say that they will stop supplying Canadian pharmacies because of this.

Does anyone have any thoughts on this? Personally, I see why people would want to do this considering that many people pay hundreds of dollars a month for their prescriptions, but at the same time I understand why pharmaceutical companies charge so much for their drugs here in the US (millions/billions of dollars go into developing new drugs and very few of them actually make a profit).

How do y'all think this will affect the state of American pharmacy if the practice of going into other countries to buy drugs continues to grow? What do y'all think will ultimately be decided regarding the legality of this practice? Any other thoughts?

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[tlh908]

If you remember from economics 101 that price ceilings usually bring shortages. If this happens in this situation then the Canadian government will want to step in also and stop the export of drugs to the US. And some of these manufactuers could help create a problem by limiting the amount of drugs exported to Canada since Canada is reimporting them to the US.

I don't think this problem will have any long term effects on American pharmacies. Only citizens close to Canada have the ability to import drugs, it would impractical for someone to drive from Missouri for example to buy drugs in Canada. And if this grows to much more I think our government will take more action like has been promised....

 

[Samoa]

I think the drug companies are charging more in the US because of the price limits in Canada. Yes, it's true that they spend a great deal of money on drug development. However, despite that, they are still making a substantial profit. I think the US government should mandate the means by which drug prices are set by the companies. What I mean by this is that, just like doctors and pharmacists and hospitals, they should be allowed to charge for X Y and Z costs plus 10%, and NO MORE, regardless of what the market will bear. Anything more is shameful exploitation of people in need.

 

[Brill]

"I don't think this problem will have any long term effects on American pharmacies. Only citizens close to Canada have the ability to import drugs, it would impractical for someone to drive from Missouri for example to buy drugs in Canada."

There are many online pharmacies based in Canada (and other countries besides the US) that sell these drugs at the same low cost.

 

[Triangulation]

I read about one american company that bought a canadian drug firm and then promptly disallowed the selling of meds to the US.

Drug prices are definitely getting out of control in the States, but I'm confident that activist groups like the AARP are eventually gonna step in with some heavy lobbying powers and start reining in prescription prices.

The pharmaceutical/industrical/medical complex in this country definitely needs an attitude adjustment.










Report this post to a moderator | IP: Logged

 

[The Pill Counter]

I think some are confused about the flow of drugs across the border and who is doing the importing/exporting. Also distinctions must be made between brand names and generics.

Firstly, the large Canadian generic companies have dedicated factories churning out pills solely for the American market. They sell them at the going US market rate. Why undercut others? They make a killing in US dollars with a much larger mark-up than they could ever get away with in Canada. Yes, we have experienced more than the odd back-order for certain generic products in Canada, perhaps due to siphoning of drugs to satisfy the American market.

Secondly, some, but not all brand name companies have manufacturing facilities in Canada. That product is solely for sale to Canadian pharmacies. The rest most likely import enough product from their American factories to satisfy the Canadian market. They would NEVER allow their subsidiaries to re-sell product made in or destined for Canada to American customers. They'd also most likely be in violation of FDA rules if they did.

Lastly, the true flow of drugs is due to online pharmacy sales, Canadian wholesalers selling to American wholesalers and pharmacies, and American customers driving to Canadian pharmacies. The legality of this movement of drugs is dubious, mostly for reasons of prescriber recognition, FDA approval (though all exporting Canadian factories are FDA approved)

What will happen in the future is anyone's guess. Already I've heard of Glaxo Smithkline threatening to cut off Canadian wholesalers who sell to American customer, but I don't know what's come of that.

 

[Samoa]

Originally posted by The Pill Counter
Yes, we have experienced more than the odd back-order for certain generic products in Canada, perhaps due to siphoning of drugs to satisfy the American market.

Well, the free market system certainly hasn't prevented drug shortages here in the US, that's for sure. At any point in time, there are something like 50 drugs on backorder here, and sometimes there aren't good alternatives. A few years ago, fentanyl was backordered for months because (so I hear) the company converted their fentanyl plant to making amiodarone because it was more profitable.

I realize this is not quite the same issue, but someone mentioned earlier that market forces would create drug shortages if prices were regulated here. So I'm pointing out that drug shortages already occur here, because of market forces working in the opposite direction.

 

[Triangulation]

Lastly, the true flow of drugs is due to online pharmacy sales, Canadian wholesalers selling to American wholesalers and pharmacies, and American customers driving to Canadian pharmacies. The legality of this movement of drugs is dubious, mostly for reasons of prescriber recognition, FDA approval (though all exporting Canadian factories are FDA approved)

Hey pillcounter. I hear ya man, but of course it's 'dubious'. If it was completely legit then they wouldn't have to do this. The companies could just sell them in the States. This situation is many people cannot afford the 'going rate' in the US, so they turn to international sources. There's also the issue of the FDA taking forever and generally being overly-pedantic rather than practical in getting meds to market, unlike other developed countries

 

[Triangulation]

This is a great thread might i add