Canadian Internet Rx drug exports crash

A study by IMS Health has found that exports of prescription drugs from Canada sold via the Internet to US residents fell almost 50% last year (Marketletter March 23), the Canadian Press reports. However, a spokesman for the drug industry research group noted that changes in US legislation to allow licensed pharmacists to send drugs to the USA could rapidly change the trend.

The US Congress has been debating proposed reforms that would allow Canadian Internet pharmacies to be licensed by the US Food and Drug Administration and to sell prescription drugs on-line (Marketletter January 22).

Ian Therriault, an IMS Health spokesman, told the Canadian Press that a strong exchange rate versus the US dollar and the expansion of Medicare prescription drug coverage under the Part D program (Marketletters passim) provide economic reasons for the dramatic fall in Canadian drug sales to the USA. Another factor that went unreported is likely to have been the price war between US retailers, including the world's largest, Wal-Mart, in the generic drug market, where prices are generally lower than in Canada (Marketletters passim).