Canadian pharmacies gain clout

WINNIPEG, Manitoba — Fast-growing Manitoba companies selling discount drugs from Canada to U.S. customers now have a partner in their battle with the pharmaceutical giants — local regulators.

Six months of mediated talks have brought a tentative agreement between the Manitoba Pharmaceutical Association and a group of Internet pharmacies on acceptable practices for an industry creating hundreds of jobs in this prairie province north of Minnesota and North Dakota.

The pact addresses an issue that major drugmaking companies have raised as a concern: whether the Canadian pharmacies are providing proper patient care and quality control.

Manitoba is home to at least 55 of the estimated 150 Canadian operations estimated to bring in more than $500 million a year in an expanding and quickly changing industry.

Ronald Guse of the province's regulatory association said he expects continued growth despite efforts by GlaxoSmithKline and other pharmaceutical companies to diminish the trade.

"It's been increasing exponentially and will continue to do so, not only in Manitoba but throughout much of Canada," Guse said.

The Canadian operations fill prescriptions from U.S. patients, capitalizing on the disparity of drug prices and dollar values between the North American neighbors.

Canada regulates drug prices as part of its national health care system, while the market dictates pricing in the United States. Many popular medications for chronic conditions such as high blood pressure and high cholesterol can be bought in Canada at less than half the U.S. price.

The business worries pharmaceutical giants like GlaxoSmithKline Inc., which sell their products for more money in the United States than in Canada. GlaxoSmithKline has cut supplies to some Canadian Internet pharmacy operations, saying the medicine it provides in Canada is prohibited from sale elsewhere.

The supply cuts cause problems, such as customers waiting three weeks beyond the normal order-filling time to get small quantities of medicine, said Andrew Yan, chief pharmacist at Internet pharmacy canadameds.com of Winnipeg.

"Sometimes I'm surprised our customers are putting up with it," Yan said. "That just tells me how desperate they are. They just can't afford it in the United States."