Discount Pharmacy Battle Looms Between Canada & The US

The US and Canadian discount pharmacy industry are currently trying to attract customers. But why is this discount pharmacy battle looming between the two countries?

The main reason is that Canada has been able to acquire a sizeable amount of the US pharmaceutical market just by having the ability to offer a discount pharmacy. The market is motivated by cheaper prices, and with this trend continuing and no signs of it ending it looks like the US pharmaceutical companies are going to have a battle like never before.

In fact, as a result theyve gone on the offensive, by attempting to not only criticize but also discredit their Canadian counterparts by announcing the drugs they are proving are inferior to what the US provides. Actually, nothing could be further from the truth.

This discount pharmacy battle between the two countries is actually not new. It really dates back to the early 90s when the American lobbyists fought hard to for the ability to have open cross-border duty free trading between Canada and Mexico, which resulted in NAFTA. In fact, it was NAFTA that created the easy movement of goods between the three countries without the usual hassles with importation.

American industry benefited a great deal from this because they were now able to farm out their manufacturing to Canada or Mexico and then sell the finished products back to these countries. Manufacturing costs decreased, and profits grew. American pharmacies, also benefited because their main adversary was Europe, and now that they could have R&D done in Canada at a much lower rate, they were now able to compete.

However, this elation by the American pharmaceutical industry was relatively short-lived Canadian companies were suddenly setting up discount pharmacy locations online and in the traditional brick and mortar store near US borders that did nothing but cater to the US customer. And now suddenly the US pharmaceutical industry is not so fond of the agreement the NAFTA agreement they fought hard to implement. Apparently, it is only attractive if it benefits only the US pharmaceutical industry.

Canadian pharmaceutical companies have cheaper R&D and manufacturing costs, which means it is relatively simple to offer discount pharmacy options where US customers can enjoy cheaper drugs.

Its not like theres a cutthroat discount pharmacy industry brewing because the price of drugs is actually regulated in Canada. Its just that the cost is so much less that within the US. On average, a US buyer can save as much as $200 a month just by purchasing drugs from a Canadian discount pharmacy.

In the spirit of competition Canadian companies began to offer prescription drugs to the lucrative US market, first in Border States and then by using other means, such as the Internet and telephone.

The US has a law that makes it illegal to import prescription drugs from Canada. However, there is a small loophole that the government is trying to close. Currently it allows for the importation of personal prescriptions for a period of no more than 3 months. All that means is that customers have to order 4 times a year.

The Canadian discount pharmacy industry is really cutting into the profits of the US pharmacies. Whether lobbyists can get the rules changed in their favor only time will tell.

About The Author

Morten Hansen has been focused on the Pharmacy area for several years and is mainly writing about subjects, that makes it easier for people to understand the different issues about Pharmacy. For more useful Tips about Pharmacy visit our website www.PharmacyTips4you.com