last week, FDA authorizes Florida to import drugs from Canada.The price of brand-name drugs in Canada is Nearly three times the cost of similar drugs in the United Statesso this method can save the United States money.
While there are still some administrative issues to resolve on the U.S. side, the biggest problem is this: Canada doesn't want to sell. Canadian Broadcasting Corporation reports Canadian Health Minister Mark Holland said:
“We will never allow any jurisdiction, whether state or other foreign jurisdiction, to jeopardize Canada's drug supply. This is not an appropriate solution to any challenge they may face…
We will do everything we can to ensure that another country cannot prey on our health system for its own benefit. ”Canadian Health Minister Mark Holland
Canada is worried because the United States will quickly deplete Canada's supply of pharmaceuticals.This issue also came up in 2019 and during the Trump administration Canadians had similar reactions At that time:
Ottawa's acting ambassador told U.S. officials at recent meetings that Canada does not have enough prescription drug supplies to meet U.S. demand and that importing drugs from Canada would not significantly reduce U.S. prices, according to a statement released Friday.[the statement] Citing a 2019 study that predicted that if 40% of U.S. prescription drugs were filled from Canada, Canada's drug supply would be exhausted in 118 days…The U.S. state of Florida spends more on prescription drugs than Canada as a whole .
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-canada-health-supplies/canadian-ambassador-says-drug-imports-would-not-lower-us-prices-idUSKBN1XB55E/
The FDA may not take into account that if countries start importing drugs from Canada, drug companies may decide to raise prices in Canada closer to U.S. levels, since the U.S. is the largest market for most drugs.
There is more to come.
