AstraZeneca rations drug supplies to Canadian pharmacies

27 April 2003

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.

This article is accessible to registered users, to continue reading please register for free.  A free trial will give you access to exclusive features, interviews, round-ups and commentary from the sharpest minds in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology space for a week. If you are already a registered user please login. If your trial has come to an end, you can subscribe here.

Login to your account

Become a subscriber

 

£820

Or £77 per month

Subscribe Now
  • Unfettered access to industry-leading news, commentary and analysis in pharma and biotech.
  • Updates from clinical trials, conferences, M&A, licensing, financing, regulation, patents & legal, executive appointments, commercial strategy and financial results.
  • Daily roundup of key events in pharma and biotech.
  • Monthly in-depth briefings on Boardroom appointments and M&A news.
  • Choose from a cost-effective annual package or a flexible monthly subscription
The Pharma Letter is an extremely useful and valuable Life Sciences service that brings together a daily update on performance people and products. It’s part of the key information for keeping me informed

Chairman, Sanofi Aventis UK



Companies featured in this story

More ones to watch >


Today's issue

Company Spotlight