Canada’s parliamentary health committee has called for a ban on bulk exports of foreign made-pharmaceuticals, according to a Reuters report.
A Conservative motion passed last week, with support of three of the legislative body’s four parties, would curb bulk drug exports only and would not ban sales to individuals by Internet pharmacies, the report said.
However, the proposal is viewed as a pre-emptive measure against threats from U.S. pharma companies that they might halt shipments to Canada if the drugs are simply shipped back to the U.S., and sold at levels that undercut U.S. prices.
The proposal would also aim to avert some of the harsher crackdowns that Canada Health Minister Ujjal Dosanjh has suggested might be necessary.
Those options include a total ban on export of price controlled patented drugs, banning sales to people who are not resident or present in Canada, and making it illegal for Canadian doctors to countersign prescriptions from U.S. doctors – all moves that could effectively shut down Internet pharmacies.