AstraZeneca rations drug supplies to Canadian pharmacies

Following the receipt of what it describes as a number of "abnormallylarge" orders, on April 9, Anglo-Swedish drug major AstraZeneca began to ration supplies of its prescription medicines to pharmacies and distributors in Canada.

The firm thus becomes the second drug multinational to take action against Internet sales of cheaper Canadian drugs to US residents, following GlaxoSmithKline's moves to block the trade earlier this year (Marketletter January 27). However, AstraZeneca's new "allotment program" is, says the company, aimed at ensuring that supplies to its regular customers are not jeopardized by the unexpectedly large orders, and is thus less forceful than GSK's, which told Canadian distributors that it would cut off their supplies of its products if they were selling them to US customers.

Other drug majors have been watching to see the results of GSK's actions before making any moves themselves and, with two of the world's largest now lining up against the Internet pharmacies, representatives of US seniors and consumer and of the Internet pharmacies fear the field is open for others to join in.