Pet pharmaceuticals: Action needed to combat lack of competition, report says

Pharmacists should have better access to pet pharmaceuticals, the Competition Bureau stated in a report released this week, saying that exclusive distribution practices limit access to products for pharmacists. In addition, with veterinarians as the main dispensers of pet medicine, Canadian pet owners experience high prices and limited choices.The Bureau, an independent law enforcement agency that protects and promotes competition for the benefit of Canadian consumers and businesses, analyzed the pet pharmaceutical sector across Canada and released a report called Pets, vets and meds: The case for more competition. It stated the Bureau had received a total of 40 complaints, and had “received complaints about industry practices and regulations that limit who can distribute pet medications, and where consumers can buy them. While veterinarians are still required to prescribe medications, online pharmacies provide cost-effective and safe alternatives for filling them in many cases, often providing significant savings compared to veterinary clinics.” More choiceThe report called on provinces and territories to consider mandating the supply of pet medication to allow pharmacists, which it calls “highly trained practitioners,” to enter the market to give pet owners more choice, convenience and possibly more competitive prices.Both veterinarians and pharmacists are legally allowed to dispense pet medication. However, the Bureau has said through market interviews it has heard that there is a widespread business practice of “exclusive distribution,” whereby pharmaceutical manufacturers will only sell to distributors, and contracts usually state that distributors – which are largely veterinary-owned – only sell to veterinarians.“As costs for pet care have increased, Canadians are concerned about affordability and availability of services,” said the Bureau’s commissioner of competition, Matthew Boswell, in a release. “Mandating the supply of pet medications to pharmacists would improve competition. We are encouraging provincial pet healthcare regulators to apply a competition lens when evaluating what is best for their jurisdictions."Wendy Chui, owner of the online pharmacy store PetsDrugMart.ca, had launched a complaint in early 2023 with the Competition Bureau. She said that drug companies were holding back supply of animal medications to pharmacies artificially raising prices and stifling competition. Chui started dispensing drugs for pets in-store in 2010 and online in 2013. From the start, she said, Ontario’s sole distributor, Veterinary Purchasing Co. Ltd. (VPCL), refused to supply her. When she approached pharmaceutical companies directly, they turned her away.So she sourced products through veterinarians. But in 2015, VPCL and drug manufacturers discovered her arrangement with vets and ceased sales to them. That year, the College of Veterinarians of Ontario changed its rules, preventing veterinarians from supplying pharmacists with resale products. Chui then started a letter-writing campaign to pharmaceutical companies and was able to make arrangements with them to get drugs from Montreal-based supplier CDMV Inc.Quebec pharmacies are an anomaly in Canada and are authorized to sell pet medications and have access to suppliers for these products. Significant effort“I have only been able to achieve this through significant effort, resources and determination,” Chui told the Globe and Mail. “Without regulatory changes, other pet pharmacies (unless based in Quebec) may still encounter significant challenges in obtaining authorized supply.”Chui said she was delighted by the bureau’s call for provincial mandates to allow pharmacists to access pet pharmaceuticals, believing that without them, pharmacists' access to supplies will remain tenuous.The Bureau based its report on research and interviews with industry stakeholders across Canada, including regulatory colleges, veterinarians, pharmacists, provincial agencies, professional associations and animal owners associations.It noted there are an estimated 8.5 million cats and 7.9 million dogs in homes across the country, and Canadians spend around $9.3 billion each year at the vet. The cost to keep an adult dog is about $4,137 per year and $2,849 per year for adult cats, according to estimates from the Ontario Veterinary Medical Association.

Pet pharmaceuticals: Action needed to combat lack of competition, report says

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