Healthy Skepticism Library item: 1289

Warning: This library includes all items relevant to health product marketing that we are aware of regardless of quality. Often we do not agree with all or part of the contents.

Publication type: news

National Union seeks probe of big drug companies
National Union of public and general employees 2003 Jun 14

Full text:

Clancy demands investigation of high prices caused by ‘evergreening’

Ottawa – The National Union of Public and General Employees has joined five other organizations in filing a formal complaint with the Competition Bureau of Canada concerning anti-competitive practices in the pharmaceutical industry.

National organizations representing seniors, pensioners, patient advocates and health care activists have joined National Union president James Clancy in filing the complaint.

The complaint, backed by specific facts and arguments, accuses Canadian brand name pharmaceutical companies of aggressively pursuing strategies aimed at extending market monopolies for certain drugs and at delaying consumer and patient access to lower-priced, therapeutically-equivalent generic drug products.

One such strategy, commonly known as ‘evergreening’, involves obtaining multiple patents leading to the same basic drug product, listing these patents on the Canadian Patent Register, and obtaining successive 24-month delays in the approval of cheaper generic products.

325,000 members

NUPGE, Canada’s second largest union with 325,000 members nationally, asks the Commissioner of the Competition Bureau to investigate the ‘evergreening’ practices in Canada.

The Union argues that ‘evergreening’ artificially extends the patent life and market monopoly of brand name drugs and delays or prevents the marketing of independent generic products. The most obvious impact of the practice is to prevent or reduce competition in the pharmaceutical market.

The union and its partners in the initiative have also requested that, if specific anti-competitive acts are found, the Competition Bureau take appropriate action including proceedings to prohibit any activities that contravene the Competition Act.