Generic drugs slow pharma spending growth in Canada

Last year, C$29.3 billion ($26.47 billion) was spent on prescription drugs in Canada, but the annual growth rate was the second-lowest in more than 20 years, according to a new report by the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI).

This slower growth in spending - 2.3% in 2013 - was due to increased use of less-expensive generic drugs and related pricing policies, reveals Prescribed Drug Spending in Canada, 2012: A Focus on Public Drug Programs. In total, prescription drugs accounted for 85% of the C$34.5 billion that was spent on all drugs last year.

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