Canada's "Big Cash Boost For MNCs"

Higher drug prices created by Canada's 1993 C-91 Patent Act amendments will give branded drugmakers extra revenues totalling at least C$1.35 billion ($990.6 million) during 1993-99, say studies done in 1995 for Health Canada but only published last month. The loss to generics firms will be C$1 billion ($733.8 million), and health system and consumer spending will be forced up C$330 million ($242.1 million).

The studies, which only consider cases up to April 1995, say the retroactive elimination of 31 licenses for generics granted the year before C-91 will give the multinationals an extra C$750.9 million ($551 million) in 1993-99, with generic industry losses of C$552.5 million ($413.4 million) and extra spending by the health system of C$198.4 million ($145.5 million). The inability of generics makers to enter the market when a branded firm alleges patent infringement will gain the latter C$603.3 million ($442.7 million), costing generics firms and consumers C$475.5 million ($348.9 million) and $131.5 million ($96.5 million) respectively, they say.