British Columbia wants to work with the federal government to ensure prescription drugs are available to Canadians and donB次元官网网址檛 end up sold over the internet to American customers, Health Minister Adrian Dix said Wednesday.
Dix said the federal and provincial governments worked together during the COVID-19 pandemic to secure and provide vaccines and he suggested a similar approach is required with prescription drugs.
B.C. introduced a regulation Wednesday to immediately ensure Type 2 diabetes patients donB次元官网网址檛 face a shortage of the drug Ozempic, touted for its weight loss side-effects and the recent focus of the sale of almost 16,000 Canadian doses to patients in the United States.
Health Minister Adrian Dix said the change will ensure patients in B.C. and Canada who need Ozempic to treat their diabetes will continue to have access to that medication and other drugs that may require protection in the future.
B次元官网网址淚 do think the issue of internet pharmacies is one the federal government will have to look at as they go forward,B次元官网网址� Dix said at a news conference. B次元官网网址淚 donB次元官网网址檛 think thereB次元官网网址檚 anything wrong with dispensing through the internet if all the rules are followed to Canadians, but sending tens of thousands of doses to the United States doesnB次元官网网址檛 make any sense.B次元官网网址�
The regulation will help prevent online or mail-order sales of Ozempic to people who donB次元官网网址檛 live in Canada and who are not in B.C. to make a purchase, he said.
B次元官网网址淲e do not bring drugs to B.C. for them to be re-exported to the United States,B次元官网网址� Dix said. B次元官网网址淗ere in Canada, we have to protect the interests of B.C. patients. This is a legislated regulation response to a real problem. This action will address this problem.B次元官网网址�
The changes come after the discovery that about 15 per cent of Ozempic prescriptions in B.C. were being filled at two Vancouver locations for shipment to the United States.
Earlier this month, the Nova Scotia College of Physicians and Surgeons suspended the licence of a doctor living in the United States who the college said wrote thousands of prescriptions for Ozempic.
Dix said he has spoken with federal Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos about the Ozempic issue and wider issues surrounding prescription drugs and the minister has been B次元官网网址渟upportive.B次元官网网址�
B次元官网网址淭hereB次元官网网址檚 a federal role here,B次元官网网址� said Dix. B次元官网网址淭his is the international trade of a valuable product, a valuable product to B.C. patients that is significant for their health and Canadian patients. We can work out under the Food and Drugs Act how we can do that together.B次元官网网址�
The minister said he did not have a cost estimate of the recent Ozempic sales to the United States, but the profit potential was likely lucrative.
B次元官网网址淭hereB次元官网网址檚 a lot of money involved in this drug and a lot of interest,B次元官网网址� Dix said. B次元官网网址淭his was the mass sale by the internet of a prescription drug we need.B次元官网网址�
He said the B.C. regulation can be amended to include other prescription drugs beyond Ozempic, but he suggested a national policy monitoring prescription drug exports would help prevent future drug issues.
B次元官网网址淚 think thereB次元官网网址檚 a national issue,B次元官网网址� Dix said. B次元官网网址淵ou donB次元官网网址檛 want to play whack-a-mole. ThatB次元官网网址檚 why national action is required.B次元官网网址�
Dix said the College of Pharmacists of BC will be responsible for ensuring its registrants comply with the new regulation.
The government said in a statement that increasingly, U.S. customers are turning to Canadian online pharmacies to purchase drugs at prices lower than at home.
Dix said heB次元官网网址檚 directed BC PharmaCare, the provincially funded program that helps patients pay for drugs, to continue to monitor and review the data on Ozempic to assess the impact of the new regulation.
BC PharmaCare provides coverage for Ozempic as a second-line therapy for Type 2 diabetes to help patients manage blood-sugar levels when metformin is not effective.
The cost is not reimbursed for weight loss.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 19, 2023.
Dirk Meissner, The Canadian Press
