and Outcome Sciences,

PHARMACEUTICAL POLICY IN CANADA IS SET AT both the federal and provincial levels of government. The federal government is responsible for intellectual property rights of manufacturers (patents) and the initial approval and labelling of prescription drugs and for ensuring overall market competitiveness. The provincial government has responsibility and jurisdiction over the funding of all health care services, in-cluding pharmaceuticals. Various interactions between the pharmaceutical indus-try, the federal and provincial governments and consumers have shaped the cur-rent landscape for prescription drugs in Canada. One key failing of the system is that the federal government is almost completely insulated from the impact of its policies because, although it regulates drug prices, it does not buy any drugs. In contrast, provincial governments have no jurisdiction over market competitiveness or pricing, yet end up paying for most of the drug expenditures incurred. Most Canadians will proudly admit that our publicly funded, universal ac-cess medicare system is worth a lot. Canadians seem willing to accepthigher taxes, lower wages and a weaker dollar as the price to pay for hav-ing everyone in insured — unlike the situation in the United States. Moreover