CONTACTStaffCAREER OPPORTUNITIESADVERTISE WITH USPRIVACY POLICYPRIVACY PREFERENCESTERMS OF USELEGAL NOTICE
© 2024 Pride Publishing Inc.
All Rights reserved
All Rights reserved
By continuing to use our site, you agree to our Private Policy and Terms of Use.
U.S.-based drug companies, in an effort to prevent Canadian pharmacies from selling brand-name drugs to U.S. consumers at cheaper Canadian prices, have raised the prices they charge for their medications in Canada, The New York Times reports. Canadian laws put price caps on all medications sold in the country, and most drugs sell in Canada for a fraction of their U.S. price. Because of the lower prices, many U.S. consumers buy their prescription medications from Canadian pharmacies through online services. But Pfizer, GlaxoSmithKline, Eli Lilly, and Bayer have all raised the prices on at least some of the products they sell in Canada between 4% and 8% in an effort to make their drugs less appealing to U.S. consumers. AstraZeneca now requires Canadian pharmacies that receive its products to provide written guarantees that the drugs won't be sold outside the country. And officials at Gilead Sciences say they will not sell the company's anti-HIV medication Viread to Canadian pharmacies at all, Canada's National Post reports. The drug is provided by Gilead free of charge to about 1,600 Canadian HIV/AIDS patients who've developed resistance to other anti-HIV medications through a special program. But the company will not make Viread more widely available in Canada due to concerns that it will be resold to U.S. consumers, according to Canadian doctors who met with Gilead officials earlier this year. Canadian health officials have warned that the country could face severe drug shortages if pharmaceutical companies like Gilead continue to restrict sales of their products to Canadian pharmacies. Jean Jones, former head of the health committee of the Consumers' Association of Canada, also said that there are fears that if Canadian pharmacies continue to sell drugs to Americans, eventually the price of the medications in Canada will be raised to match those charged in the United States. "Drug costs are a major topic of conversation, and there is apprehension that the American interest in buying drugs here may have an impact," he said.
Want more breaking equality news & trending entertainment stories?
Check out our NEW 24/7 streaming service: the Advocate Channel!
Download the Advocate Channel App for your mobile phone and your favorite streaming device!
From our Sponsors
Most Popular
Meet all 37 of the queer women in this season's WNBA
April 17 2024 11:24 AM
Here are the 15 gayest travel destinations in the world: report
March 26 2024 9:23 AM
21+ steamy photos of Scotland’s finest gay men in Elska Glasgow
February 01 2024 10:07 PM
More Than 50 of Our Favorite LGBTQ+ Moms
May 12 2024 11:44 AM
Conjoined twins Lori Schappell and trans man George Schappell dead at 62
April 27 2024 6:13 PM
Latest Stories
Joe Biden sends queer lawmakers & LGBTQ+ allies to Paris Olympics
July 24 2024 12:08 PM
Kamala Harris rides wave of Democratic energy at kickoff event in Wisconsin
July 23 2024 3:36 PM
'Devastated:' A six-week abortion ban will go into effect in Iowa next week
July 23 2024 2:28 PM
Four hours, 44,000 Black women, and one Zoom call
July 23 2024 2:17 PM