Study
| EST. READ TIME 1 MIN.Generic Drugopoly: Why Non-patented Prescription Drugs Cost More in Canada than in the United States and Europe
Studies comparing international prices of prescription pharmaceuticals have found that Canadian prices are close to the international median price for patented drugs but higher for non-patented single-source (usually brand-name) drugs, and also higher for non-patented multiple-source (mostly generic) drugs. Furthermore, in studies comparing Canadian to American drug prices, it has been found that Canadian prices are significantly lower overall for patented drugs, but are usually higher than American prices for generic drugs.
Given that Canadian incomes are lower than incomes in most of the countries used for drug price comparisons by the PMPRB (and much lower than incomes in the United States), economic theory would predict that in a free market the prices for drugs would also be lower in Canada, a price-to-income relationship that has also been observed for many non-pharmaceutical products. Therefore, the observation that Canadian prices for non-patented drugs are higher that the international median and that Canadian prices for generic drugs are higher than American prices, is counter-intuitive and merits investigation into the reasons for this irregular pricing pattern.
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Brett J. Skinner
Brett J. Skinner Dr. Brett J. Skinner was the Fraser Institutes Director of Health Policy Research (2004 to 2012) andwas also the Institutes President and CEO (2010 and 2012). Dr. Skinner has a B.A. from the University of Windsor, an M.A. through joint studies between the University of Windsor and Wayne State University in Detroit (Michigan), and a Ph.D. from the University of Western Ontario, where he has lectured in both the Faculty of Health Sciences and the Department of Political Science. Dr. Skinner has authored or co-authored approximately 50 major original pieces of applied economics and public policy research. In 2003 he was a co-winner of the Atlas Economic Research Foundations Sir Antony Fisher Memorial Award for innovative projects in public policy. Dr. Skinners book, Canadian Health Policy Failures: Whats wrong? Who gets hurt? Why nothing changes, was a finalist for Atlas 2009 Fisher book prize. His research has been published through several think-tanks including the Fraser Institute (Vancouver), the Atlantic Institute for Market Studies (Halifax), the Pacific Research Institute (San Francisco), the American Enterprise Institute (Washington, D.C.) and the Israel National Institute for Health Policy Research (Israel). His work has also been published in several academic journals including Economic Affairs, Pharmacoeconomics and Alimentary Pharmacology & Therapeutics. Dr. Skinner appears and is cited frequently as an expert in the Canadian, American, and global media. He has presented his research at conferences and events around the world, including testifying before the House of Commons Standing Committee on Health in Ottawa, and briefing bi-partisan Congressional policy staff at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C.… Read more Read Less…
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