One of the pharmaceutical industry's fastest growing segments is so-called reimportation sites, which allow people to buy essential pharmaceuticals at lower prices from foreign countries. The issue has become a political hot button. Brand-name drugs purchased in Canada can typically cost 30% to 70% less than the same drugs purchased in the U.S. Canada's Internet pharmacy industry more than doubled its sales to the United States in 2003, according to the first published study of annual growth in the cross-border trade. Figures released by IMS Health show that the business of selling drugs to Americans over the Internet was worth at least $566-million for wholesalers in 2003, up from $251-million in 2002. The sales numbers also reflect many of the troubles affecting the new industry. After growing 39 per cent in the first quarter of 2003, the pace slowed and fourth-quarter sales growth declined 8 per cent. The industry's rapid growth and drug companies' attempts to squeeze off supply have raised fears about drug shortages in Manitoba, where a cluster of on-line retailers account for almost half the cross-border drug trade. The IMS figures show that domestic drug sales in Manitoba haven't changed much, a slight increase to $362-million in 2003 from $330-million in 2002. Knowledge Source's Canadian Online Pharmacies Market Overview, 118 pages, includes the Industry's Overview and Trends, as well as profiles of the industry's major participants.
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Healthcare Market Overviews