Canada has less availability and terrible wait times for access for new drugs, according to a study conducted by the Canadian Health Policy Institute (CHPI). Canada was a low-priority market for new drug launches, according to the Thursday study. The CHPI said the number of new drug applications submitted in Canada was 54% of the number launched in the United States and 62% of those launched in the European Union. Health Canada approved fewer new drugs compared to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and European Medicines Agency (EMA). Seven-tenths of the new drugs authorized for marketing in the US and 78% of those in Europe were approved in Canada.On average, Canada’s public drug plans covered 12% of the new medicines covered by US Medicare Part D drug plans and 14% of the new drugs covered by those in Europe. In total, the CHPI said publicly-insured Canadians waited an average of four years to access new drugs — from the first date that a new drug application was launched in any of the three markets to the date the drug was listed on the formulary of a public plan. This was two-and-a-half years longer than Americans insured under Medicare and two-and-one-fifth years longer than publicly-insured Europeans.The CHPI recommended four policy options to address the lack of access to new medicines in Canada. It said the first policy option is Health Canada should recognize occurring drug approvals in the FDA and EMA. Regulatory harmonization could have made an additional 171 new drugs available to Canadians and could have reduced the overall wait by two months.If Canada adopted the German model, it would allow immediate interim insurance coverage for new medicines following marketing authorization, with permanent insurance coverage pending the outcome of post-market price and reimbursement negotiations. This could reduce wait times by more than two years.It said the third solution is for the Canadian government to end its price control regime. Research has shown price regulation is a significant disincentive in company decisions about prioritizing markets for new drug launches. Patent term restoration could compensate pharmaceutical companies for regulatory approval delays and those caused by health technology assessments, prices, and reimbursement negotiations. Cabinet reneged on a 2022 agreement it had made with NDP leader Jagmeet Singh to pass pharmacare in November. READ MORE: Trudeau gov’t reneges on pharmacare deal with NDPCabinet ministers said a written promise to pass pharmacare legislation by the end of December would not be kept. When a planning motion was brought forward, cabinet left out any mention of pharmacare. Thirteen days were left on the House of Commons calendar before Parliament took a break for Christmas.
