Quote:
|
One of the world's most costly cancer drugs will not be marketed in Canada because the distributor can't charge the price it wants -- one a federal board has found to be too high.
|
Interesting case. While I favour drug companies being able to recoup development costs, this seems a very cold decision to have made. I wonder if the cross-border prescription drug "problem" is what is scaring Bristol-Meyers Squibb.
The cost in US$ is $24,000. In Western Europe, it is EU$ 4,000 (approx Can$5,677). It sounds to me like the drug company is afraid of losing their US cash cow.
As for how the price is typically priced:
Quote:
|
That's because when a new drug is introduced, the Patented Medicine Prices Review Board scrutinizes the prices being commanded in Germany, France, Italy, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States. The Canadian price cannot be the highest of those countries; typically, it is set at the median of them.
|
Link