The Supreme Court of Canada has upheld Ontario’s ban on pharmacy chains from selling their own private label branded generic drugs.
“If pharmacies were permitted to create their own affiliated manufacturers whom they controlled, they would be directly involved in setting the formulary prices and have strong incentives to keep those prices high,” the court said in its ruling.
Ontario Minister of Health and Long-Term Care Deb Matthews was pleased with the decision.
The “Supreme Court of Canada ruling upholds the changes we made to give people across the province access to the medication they need at the lowest possible price,” she said in a statement.
Shoppers Drug Mart said it respected the court’s decision, but “it is disappointed with the outcome.”
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