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Health minister accuses industry of waging dishonest 'American-style' ad war to derail much-needed reforms.
Toronto (9 June 2010) - The Ontario government will not back down in its fight with the 'Big Pharmacy' industry to lower the cost of generic drugs.
Health Minister Deb Matthews has confirmed in an update on the plan that the province will hold firm, accusing the industry of trying to mislead citizens with an expensive and dishonest "American-style" PR campaign to keep generic drug prices high.
The cost of generic drugs in Canada is notably higher than in many industrialized countries and the proposed reforms are intended to reduce prices significantly.
The province plans to end payments by generic drug companies (now estimated at as much as $800 million in Ontario alone) to guarantee their products shelf space in pharmacies.
The government also plans to require that the prices of generic drugs be reduced to no more than 25% of the cost of brand-name equivalents.
The reforms are being closely watched across Canada. If successful, the Ontario model could become a template for other provinces to follow. The industry has been lobbying aggressively against the reforms since they were first announced in April.
There was speculation that Matthews might offer an olive branch of some sort in her latest statement. Instead, she made no major changes and declared that the province would stand its ground in the face of a high-pressure campaign mounted by the pharmacy industry.
"Despite the fact that Big Pharmacy opposed our changes with one of the most politically-charged, American-style PR campaigns in this province's history, I can tell you that our resolve has never wavered," Matthews declared at a news conference.
She accused the industry of claiming dishonestly that the reforms would result in a cutback in front-line health care.
Meanwhile, CARP, a national association that lobbies on issues related to aging, released a survey showing that 90% of its members support the government's plan.
The federal Competition Bureau and other critics have said rebate payments are the chief reason that Canadians pay significantly more for generic medicines than countries like the United States and Great Britain.
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