Drug dearth a fear in Canada

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Canadians are increasingly worried they will run out of medicinesas more American consumers and local governments look across the northern border for cheaper prescription drugs.

One Canadian pharmacy group has said it will stop bulk prescription drug sales to U.S. states and municipalities, and a coalition of patients and pharmacy groups this week asked their government to ban prescription drug exports.

"The issue for Canada is a growing concern that if we do continue to supply your market ... there will not be adequate drugs for Canadians," said Louise Binder, chairwoman of the Canadian Treatment Action Council (CTAC), an advocacy group for people with HIV and AIDS.

Pharmaceutical manufacturers are beginning to delay drug sales in Canada until they can guarantee a price that will not undercut sales in the United States, said Mrs. Binder, whose group teamed up with the Canadian Pharmacists Association and other organizations to recommend an end to drug exports.

Re-importation has grown increasingly popular in the United States -- and has become an election issue--as health insurance costs have jumped by almost 60 percent in the past four years. Individual consumers often can find prescription drugs cheaper in Canada than in the United States.

The Bush administration has supported the concept of re-importation but resisted implementation because of safety issues.

Sen. John Kerry, Massachusetts Democrat and presidential nominee, backed Senate legislation, which has not passed Congress, that would allow easier access to Canadian imports.

Many of the drugs are made in the United States, but Canada relies on a federal review board to cap prices. Provinces buy in bulk, using purchasing power to help control costs.

Major U.S. buyers, such as the Department of Veterans Affairs and some health maintenance organizations (HMOs), pay about the same prices as Canadian provinces for drugs, but smaller players are unable to bargain for discounts, said Aidan Hollis, a University of Calgary professor in Alberta who has studied pharmaceutical pricing in North America.

"So [U.S. residents] trying to buy drugs in Canada, they are the under- or uninsured," Mr. Hollis said.