Ontario To Give $150M To Pharma For Jobs
6 CommentsBy Ed Silverman // January 9th, 2008 // 3:33 pm
Big drugmakers are getting $150 million from the Ontario government to encourage them to create jobs and do more R&D, according to The Canadian Press. John Wilkinson, the government’s research and innovation minister, says the money will be used to help create “good-paying jobs” that he hopes will support the discovery of new medical treatments for diseases.
As a result, drugmakers will be able to apply for grants, loans, forgivable interest loans and funds for building infrastructure, research and training. In explaining the move, Wilkinson says supporting the research with provincial money will strengthen Ontario’s economy. The $150 million for the drug companies will come from the Liberal government’s $1.15 billion “next-generation” jobs fund.
Ontario’s pharmaceutical industry employs over 9,000 people and invested $550 million in research in the province in 2006.
Nathan
If Canada wants pharma jobs, maybe they should back off their price control measures. Why do you think re-importation is such a hot topic? Pharma companies are forced to sell drugs cheaply to Canada. Why should they make serious investment there?
Bob Freeman
Canada is a profitable market for pharma companies because they don’t have to have the bloated sales and marketing infrastructures as they do in the US. Plus, the state of clinical research in Canada is world-class. Canada doesn’t control prices at the federal level; those policies are the perogative of the Provinces. The only “control” is that Canada will not pay the highest drug prices in the world and an external reference pricing system protects against that.
Atlex
Let’s not go overboard. Canada is nothing more than a small profit driver for any international pharma company. However, its reimbursement structure, though not federally directed, is still based on purely on price controls and, in some provinces, price setting. Moreover, some provinces (eg, BC)are notorious for not adopting innovations to the detriment of their citizens.
Jack2
In my mind, from the perspective of pharmaceutical companies, Canada is the worst first world country.
Bob Freeman
If you ask anyone in any company’s US business they’ll whine about Canada and dismiss it as a small market, no larger than a big managed care organization. Talk to the folks in the global side and you get a different view. Talk to the Canadian affiliate’s management and you’ll get a cynical view of the US ops.
Nobody’s going to abandon Canada.
Bruce
Bob is a very intelligent man who has some insight into the Canadian market.
Sales numbers are one thing, but profit is another.