subject: Canadian Drugs: Why Are They Cheaper Than Others? [print this page] Canadian Drugs: Why Are They Cheaper Than Others?
As per Industry Canada statistics, the Canadian pharmaceutical sale represents a 3% share in the global pharmaceutical market. This figures means Canada is the 9th largest pharmaceutical market in the world. Canada has many pharmaceutical companies manufacturing prescription as well as non-prescription Canadian drugs that are either branded or generic. The Canadian drugs are popular because it is a well known fact that they are much cheaper in Canada than in the United States. This is a major reason why many Americans prefer purchasing medicines, prescription as well as non-prescription, from Canada instead of the United States. Internet has enabled a smoother and easier cross-border Canadian drugs sale, adding significantly to Canada's total drug sale. Why Does Price Differ Between American and Canadian Drugs According to an article published in the Journal of Medicine, Canada continues to be the favorite destination for Americans who are looking to purchase good quality, cheap prescription as well as non-prescription drugs. The number of Americans, who either place their orders over the phone, cross the border to place their order in person, place their order via fax or surf the internet and place their orders online with online pharmacies, continues to grow at a steady pace. The reason behind this trend is that the Canadian government has strict price control measures in place that enable safe sale of prescription Canadian drugs at highly affordable prices. There are several factors that contribute to this difference in American and Canadian drugs prices. Some of these are:
As per Canadian laws, there is a cap on the total price that a pharmaceutical company or any distributor of Canadian drugs can charge a customer. This reduces the wholesale price of the Canadian drugs, for most of the companies and distributors, by a great margin. The Patented Medicine Prices Review Board of Canada determines the prices. Also, since pharmacies procure many medicines at a less price, they find themselves in a position to reduce the price while selling.
In Ontario and Quebec, Canadian provinces, the drug formulary has imposed restriction on the utilization of any new and expensive drugs. The Canadian government provides higher users with bulks of these type of drugs and, usually, pharmaceutical companies and distributors try to negotiate the prices and lower them in order to get their medical drugs on the drug formulary list.
Another reason is that the liability costs of drug companies in Canada are less than that of US pharmaceutical companies.
The American standard of living is a little higher than Canada. This has an obvious impact on the prices fixed by Canadian drugs manufacturers.
