A year ago the United States was gripped in debate about whether or not to bail out Wall Street.  Many Americans felt that to bail out a failing business was a socialist move.  The socialist accusations are still being made today but now that the debate has moved on to healthcare.  Different presidents and different subjects but America remains polarised and passionate.  Interestingly, Canada has little to say on the subject with a lot to gain.  The Canadian pharmaceutical market is one of the fastest growing in the world. The metropolitan areas of Montreal and Toronto have seen an influx of bioscience companies keen to take advantage of supportive national, regional and city policies, along with an educated workforce and a high standard of living.

Unlike the United States, Canada controls the price of branded prescription drugs through a national agency, the Patented Medicines Review Board.  Throughout its history the PMRB has consistently set the price of drugs below that commanded in the United States.  This has sparked a fierce debate amongst regulators and the industry about parallel imports and its affect on markets, distributors and patient care.  According to Mintel GMN, the Canadian market has enjoyed robust, stable growth over the past few years, posting figures of 8.7% by value in 2007 and 8.4% in 2008.  However, forecasts are indicating a drop in value in 2009.  This might be slightly linked to the global economic downturn but another factor affecting the market is the number of drugs whose patent is due to expire.  Once the patent has ended, generic drugs tend to benefit as the market becomes more commodity and less brand driven.
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