Since folks want to throw Cory under the bus...

[OneBlueDotBama]

68. It's complicated...

I don't see where drugs either off patent or on patent are marketed aggressively in Canada. If a drug formulation is approved by health Canada's Therapeutics Products Directorate and have to prove their generic drug is as safe and effective as the patent med. They also have to prove to the CDR that their med is absorbed as well as the patent variety. Essentially if the patent medication changes their formula slightly to extend their patent (evergreening) and thru various means encourage docs to Rx the patent variety, some Provinces will go with the original formula generic version. Most generics are manufactured in Canada and if the demand was there, I'm sure they could ramp up production to address US demand.

Of note I did attend a conference at the NIH maybe ten years ago where importation of Canadian meds was the topic. I was approached by a rep working for Rudy Giuliani asking me if Bernie Kerik could speak with me. Roody was apparently all about middle eastern terrorists using drug importation as a method of financing their terror networks. Bernie asked me about the MCC (Mennonite Central Committee) having ties to a Canadian online pharm and if they were a terrorist org... I laughed in the moron's face. I later found out that Roody had scored a multi-million buck contract from the Feds to research terrorist orgs.

It seems there is much BS about this topic being spread, as if was years ago. The problem is US big pharma gouging patients with the approval of American politicians of all stripes. Toss in aggressive astroturfing by big pharma to use patient advocacy to promote their products. PR & consulting companies will regularly have so called patient advocates show up at politicians offices pleading their case to have this medical therapy approved quickly by the FDA and listed on formularies. Of course this operation is tied in with funding the pols ability to stay in office.