Originally Posted By: VictoryXC
Originally Posted By: SKB
Stan,
...... Speaking of health care and Canadians. Our dairy farmers were not the only winners. Pharmaceutical companies did very well with our Administration pressuring both Canada and Mexico to increase the amount of time a drug remains under patent protection keeping generics off the market longer and increasing costs to consumers. Canada went from 8 to 10 years and Mexico went from 5 to 10 years. The Administration pushed hard for 12 years patent protection but settled at 10 years. Some winners for sure but not the consumer in this cases.



There is more than meets the eye. Although there will be a greater cost to Canadian drug plans and by extension patients, the real story is that the quality of generics are being disputed by physicians as being less effective than their brand name. After all the regulators do not scrutinize quality criteria of generics in the same way as brand name.

In addition, generics are more expensive here than in the US where competition is more fierce. Generics in Canada are taking advantage of the softer patent holds than many other countries. Given the current circumstances, the newest developed (cancer) drugs are hesitant in filing with Health Canada because of the softer protection time to recoup their costs.

As a Canadian, I am quite happy with this change.


No fair Patrick. You work in the industry. You actually know what you are talking about. That’s like cheating when the rest of us are just shooting from the hip. Making generics available later just HAS to be bad for consumers. Please repeat the Canadian mantra......”socialized medicine at any cost”. Profit bad, single payer, no accountability good.

Last edited by canvasback; 10/13/18 02:32 PM.
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