IPABC - Questions & Answers
We serve approximately 1 million American patients.
Our members significantly contribute to the BC economy, and the demand for our industry is growing. We directly employ a range of full time staff, including pharmacists, pharmacy technicians, call centre staff, IT technicians, shipping clerks, administrative staff.
While some in the popular media have assumed that it’s not legal to dispense drugs from outside of their country, there is little support for this in U.S. law. The FDA has a policy of allowing into the U.S. up to a 90-day supply of approved medication for personal use.
There is also enormous grassroots pressure not to enforce the limited restrictions on drug re-importation. Many of the individuals who are currently getting their medicines from Canadian International Pharmacies are senior citizens on fixed incomes. The optics of trying to stop them from re-importing U.S.-made drugs would be difficult. It is also evident to most of the stakeholders that the price of patented medicines in the U.S. is a critical problem.
The U.S. Government also knows that drugs from Canadian pharmacies are, simply put, totally safe.
Yes, there are many bills currently being considered by the US Congress, including the Safe and Affordable Drugs from Canada Act of 2015, sponsored by Senator John McCain (R-Arizona).
This act would permit individuals to import a prescription drug purchased from an approved Canadian pharmacy provided it is:
- dispensed through a pharmacist licensed in Canada
- purchased for personal use, with the quantity not greater than a 90-day supply filled using a valid prescription issued by a physician licensed to practice in the US
- a FFDCA-approved drug
In Canada, the system operates much differently. In 1987 the Canadian government created the Patented Medicine Prices Review Board, the mandate of which is to ensure that the price of patented drugs in Canada is not excessive. In exchange for increased patent protection, the pharmaceutical manufacturers agreed that (among other things) drugs which are new to the market would not be priced significantly above the cost of its closest related treatment, and that any increases would be tied to the Consumer Price Index. Furthermore, Canadian provinces, such as BC, have been very aggressive in regulating and driving down the costs of pharmaceuticals.
The U.S. has no similar price constraints. As a result, compared to every other Western nation, costs have spiralled dramatically. The U.S. currently accounts for about half the worldwide revenue of drug makers.
This is largely a myth. Evidence shows that, in the United States, the development of new pharmaceuticals is largely funded by the National Institutes of Health, a federal government organization. But it is the biotechnology firms that usually lead the way in R&D; Big Pharma often only comes into the picture during Phase II or Phase III trials, purchasing the rights for drugs that look promising after much of the real research and development (and the associated risk) has already taken place.
And even when they do come into the picture, the amount of money the drug manufacturers spend on R&D is dwarfed by other expenditures. For example, out of every $100 Big Pharma spends, approximately $30-$35 goes to marketing costs. By comparison, only about $20 is allocated to R&D. And with profit margins at all-time highs, the costs are, once again, passed on to the consumer. The major pharmaceutical companies like to present themselves as almost selflessly charitable, even altruistic. The truth is they are big, robust and very profitable corporations.
The drug companies are certainly part of the process. But with regard to R&D, many of the drugs Big Pharma "develop" are not, in fact, new at all. A common industry practice is "Evergreening." Often, when a patent is about to run its course and is a candidate for generic manufacture, instead of continuing to market the drug with an expensive high-profile campaign, the manufacturer dramatically reduces the marketing support for their own product. Subsequently the demand trails off. As the demand for the old drug fades, a new drug - with a full-length patent - is positioned to take its place. And often the "new" drug is only a minor variation on the old; a molecule is "tweaked" (slightly altering the molecular structure), thereby rendering it technically "new." Sometimes, the main difference is that the dosage is upped. The drug is then declared more efficacious - not surprisingly, since the patient is now taking more of it.
Evergreening has two purposes. One, to undercut the generic drug suppliers, who now have the right to reproduce a drug - but one whose luster has been intentionally faded, and is no longer the darling of the physician-prescriber. And two, to ensure that the manufacturer continues to dominate a market for which they have developed marketing expertise. While that may be good business, it's not necessarily good for patients and the medical systems that support them.
Our pharmacies have a perfect safety record.
We require:
- Valid prescription
- Patient’s demographic and medical information
- Licensed pharmacist on staff to supervise dispensing of medications and be available for patient consultation
- All our members to have procedures in place to ensure patent privacy and confidentiality.
IPABC pharmacies are thoroughly vetted and certified by the Canadian International Pharmacy Association (CIPA)
All our pharmacies display the CIPA red oval seal that denotes integrity, quality and trust. CIPA is aggressive in pursuing fraudulent online pharmacies.
Our members significantly contribute to the BC economy, and the demand for our industry is growing. We directly employ a range of full time staff, including pharmacists, pharmacy technicians, call centre staff, IT technicians, shipping clerks, administrative staff.
We are distance-based health care professionals. We are knowledgeable, ethical and experienced. We are, we believe, the future.