Importing Canadian Drugs: Just Drops in the Ocean to Resolving Drug Shortages

On October 28th, Brett J. Skinner, Founder and CEO of Canadian Health Policy Institute (CHPI) (CHPI) and the Editor of Canadian Health Policy Journal, published a study demonstrating the impact of U.S. Importation plans on the Canadian drug supply. In short, the study found the policy would be drops in the ocean to what is truly necessary to address the drug shortage crisis.?

Examining American sales volume for 27 prescription drugs listed for state importation, Skinner estimated the length of time it would take to exhaust the Canadian supply of these drugs based on U.S. consumer demand. Skinner found that on average the importation plan would deplete the entirety of the Canadian drug supply within just 57 days; for some drugs, full depletion would occur within a single day.?

The seven states who have legislated their intention to establish a state importation plan (Colorado, Maine, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Texas, Florida, and Vermont) exceeds the entire population of Canada by 62%. Nationally, “American consumers outnumber Canadian consumers by a ratio of more than 8 to 1.” Clearly, if additional states continue to propose state importation plans, the effect on the drug supply could become even more seismic.?

If this is the case, many would assume manufacturers would simply increase their supply to Canadian markets; however, this is not necessarily the case. As the study notes, “manufacturers estimate the potential demand for their products prior to launching in any market,” and any sudden increases in demand would be classified as “arbitrage-related drug imports.” This would lead to these manufacturers limiting their supply of products to Canadian distributors; the Canadian government, in turn, wouldn’t respond lightly.?

If “arbitrage-related drug imports” limit Canadian supply and quickly deplete the drug shortage, Canadian government would be forced to enact exportation bands. In a press release following the FDA’s approval of Florida’s drug importation plan, the Canadian government asserted their stance on the issue: protecting Canadian consumers and preventing shortages in Canada remains the #1 priority. The Canadian government has already passed regulations to “prohibit certain drugs intended for the Canadian market from being sold for consumption outside of Canada if that sale could cause, or worsen, a drug shortage in Canada.”??

Considering its ineffectiveness of addressing the drug shortage issue, the American government must consider alternative means.

What do you think are some alternative methods to proactively address the drug supply shortage? I’d love to hear your thoughts.?

#DrugShortages #FDA #DrugImportation #Pharmaceuticals