Final week, FDA approved the State of Florida to import prescription drugs from Canada. The worth of branded prescription drugs in Canada is almost 3 times the price of equivalent prescription drugs within the US, so this strategy may save the US cash.
Whereas there are some administrative points to work out on the US facet, the most important challenge is the next: Canada doesn’t wish to promote. CBC experiences that Canadian Well being Minister Mark Holland said:
“There isn’t a manner we are going to permit any jurisdiction, be it a state or one other international jurisdiction, to hazard the Canadian drug provide. That isn’t an acceptable answer to no matter challenges they might be dealing with…
We’re going to do all the things in our energy to guarantee that one other nation can’t be given the flexibility to pillage our well being system for its personal profit.”Canadian Well being Minister Mark Holland
Canada is worried as a result of the US would quickly exhaust the Canadian drug provide. This challenge arose in 2019 as properly in the course of the Trump administration and Canadians had an analogous response again then:
Canada doesn’t have a big sufficient provide of prescribed drugs to fulfill U.S. demand, and importing medicines from Canada wouldn’t considerably decrease U.S. costs, Ottawa’s performing ambassador informed U.S. officers in latest conferences, in accordance with a press release revealed on Friday…[the statement] cited a 2019 examine that projected that if 40% of U.S. prescriptions have been crammed from Canada, the Canadian drug provide would run out in 118 days…the U.S. state of Florida spends extra on prescribed drugs than all of Canada.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-canada-health-supplies/canadian-ambassador-says-drug-imports-would-not-lower-u-s-prices-idUSKBN1XB55E/
FDA could not keep in mind that if States start to import medicine from Canada, pharmaceutical firms could resolve to boost costs in Canada nearer to US ranges, because the US is the biggest marketplace for most prescription drugs.
Far more to return.