Canadian Packaging Machinery Market Research Report - PMMI

According to IMS Health Canada data, 335 million prescriptions were filled in 2002, a
7.2 percent increase over 2001. In Canada, generic pharmaceuticals were used to fill
40.3 percent of all retail prescriptions in 2002. At the provincial level in 2002, the
generic share of retail prescriptions filled ranged from a low of 35.7 percent in
Quebec to a high of 46.1 percent in Saskatchewan. Information provided by the
Canadian Generic Pharmaceutical Association indicates that the drugs produced by
Apotex and Novopharm, two generic drug manufacturers, filled 24.9 percent of all
retail prescriptions in 2002.
Canada provides patent protection for 20 years for innovative products such as
brand-name pharmaceuticals, although a brand-name drug is often on the market for
less than 10 years. Once a brand-name drug no longer enjoys patent protection,
generic drug manufacturers can develop and market their versions of the brandname
product. In Canada, the use of generic drugs to fill prescriptions is driven by
changes that have occurred in provincial and private sector drug programs, changes
which have dictated the use of generic drugs as one method of constraining rising
drug program costs.
In 2001, the last year for which complete industry statistics are available, the
personal care products industry shipped goods of their own manufacture valued at
$C3.343 billion, which is a one per cent decrease over 2000. The industry’s
shipments represent 0.6 percent of the total value of Canada’s manufacturing
shipments in 2001. Statistics Canada data for 2001 indicate that the industry was
composed of 403 establishments and that they employed 13,588 people. Two-thirds
of the personal care products sold in Canada are imported. In 2002, $C3.204 billion
dollars of personal care products were imported into Canada. Of the $C3.204 billion
imported, $C1.643 billion were soaps and tooth pastes and other allied products and
$C1.561 billion were bath oils, deodorants, shaving preparations, cosmetics, and
perfumes.
5.2 KEY PLAYERS
Ten leading Canadian pharmaceutical companies, which are ranked by annual sales
revenue, are presented in the following table.
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