|
|
|
|
||
|
||
|
|
||
| SEARCH | SUBSCRIBE | ||
|
 |
Canada
voices concern over drug sales to U.S. By Randall Palmer, Reuters
Health The Canadian government voiced concern on Wednesday that
sales of low-cost prescription drugs to the Health Minister Anne McLellan urged professional associations on
Wednesday to condemn the practice of Internet sales to the "There are associations, be they pharmacists in particular or
doctors, who have not passed resolutions condemning the practice,"
McLellan told reporters. "There are some associations that have taken a strong line in
relation to Internet pharmacy practices. I would suggest that other
associations should do the same." McLellan said she had no evidence of any shortages, and her department
called for information on the impact of the cross-border sales. Drug prices are regulated by the Canadian government, and the lure of
cheaper medicine has captured the imagination of cities and states south
of the border as they try to cut health spending in a market that does not
control drug costs. But several big drugmakers have said they would limit the sale of drugs
to Canadian wholesalers to prevent the later export of the same products
to the And the concern is that this might end up cutting into what is
available for Canadians. "Cross-border sales of prescription drugs via the growing practice
of Internet pharmacy... raise the potential for drug shortages
domestically," Diane Gorman, assistant deputy minister of health,
said in a letter to medical and pharmaceutical groups and regulators. At first blush, the idea of finding another niche to sell into the But the idea has snowballed, with increasing media coverage on both
sides of the border and mayors, governors and members of Congress wanting
to tap into a cheaper supply. The Canadian International Pharmacy Association, a new group of
pharmacists that do a mail-order business, said there was no evidence that
the sales to the "It is fear-mongering," the group's vice-president,
pharmacist Andy Troszok, told Reuters, adding that the association was
launching legal challenges to drug companies' attempts to limit supply. But the larger Canadian Pharmacists Association opposes the practice on
the grounds that it jeopardizes Canadians' health and stretches
pharmacists too thin. "We keep hearing from pharmacists across the country that there
are more shortages than there ever have been and they last longer than
they ever have," pharmacist Barry Power said for the association. But it was not clear what the federal government could do to put a halt
to the practice. McLellan said provinces were responsible for regulating
pharmacies. If there is evidence that the sales are causing shortages, she would
have to sit down with provincial health ministers "and talk very
seriously about what is happening," she said. Copyright
© 2002 Global Action on Aging |
