'Bout bloody time Canada got a break from the greedy pharmaceutical   
   companies.  Next let's get the universal buying system in place - and save a   
   few more billion $.   
   ___________________________________   
      
   CBC News · Posted: Aug 09, 2019   
      
   The federal government is making changes to the way it will evaluate new drug   
   prices, a tweak it says will save Canadians billions over the next 10 years.   
      
   On Friday, the government released changes to the Patented Medicine Prices   
   Review Board, first set up in 1987 as a shield against what the government   
   calls "excessive prices," set to come into force next July.   
      
   "The [board] relies on outdated regulatory tools and information that foreign   
   medicine pricing authorities updated years ago. As a result, list prices for   
   patented medicines in Canada are now among the highest in the world," notes a   
   release from Health    
   Canada.   
      
   Under the new regulations, the board will no longer compare prices with the   
   United States and Switzerland, which have some of the world's highest drug   
   prices, when figuring out what companies are allowed to charge. It will still   
   compare drug prices to    
   France, Germany and Italy, and has added Japan, Spain, Norway, Australia,   
   Belgium and the Netherlands to the list.   
      
   The board will also now have to consider a drug's "value to and financial   
   impact on consumers in the health system" when determining if a price is   
   excessive.   
      
   "These bold reforms will both make prescription drugs more affordable and   
   accessible for all Canadians saving them an estimated $13 billion in the next   
   decade and lay the foundation for national pharmacare," the federal health   
   agency said in a statement.   
      
   The amendments will also allow the board to see a medication's true market   
   price, including any rebates that have been added. The board was previously   
   unable to access these figures.   
      
   The changes will apply to new drugs that aren't currently on the market, and   
   won't begin to come into effect until next June.  Health Canada said it could   
   take up to 10 years for some cost changes to be fully realized, and put the   
   total savings at $8.8    
   billion over that time — or $13.3 billion when inflation and other factors   
   are taken into account.   
      
      
   Drug shortage concerns   
      
   The changes come as the U.S. under the Trump administration revealed plans   
   last week to import cheaper prescription drugs from Canada. That announcement   
   prompted fears of a potential drug shortage, a concern that could be   
   exacerbated if medication costs    
   are lowered further.   
      
   Innovative Medicines Canada, the Canadian pharmaceutical industry association,   
   warned Friday the amendments would stifle the development of new medicines and   
   investments in Canada's life sciences sector.   
   [- - -]   
   The government said it didn't expect delays in accessing medication, with the   
   Health Canada release noting "several countries with lower prices have faster   
   access to new medicines than Canada."   
      
   "That's why we are announcing these regulatory changes today.  By improving   
   the affordability of necessary prescription medicines, we're actually   
   increasing the accessibility for all Canadians," Lawrence Cheung, Health   
   Canada's director of the Office of    
   Pharmaceutical Management Strategies, said in a teleconference Friday.   
      
   "The reality is we acknowledge that drug shortages can have a significant   
   impact on patients and health-care professionals.  We're still committed to   
   doing our part to address [shortages], and prevent them and mitigate them   
   before they actually even    
   happen."   
      
   "The revenues for industry will increase over the 10-year period despite the   
   significant savings that Canadians will experience from these regulatory   
   changes," Cheung said in Friday's teleconference.   
      
   "There is no indication that higher prices charged in a country leads to   
   higher economic investments or jobs in that country."   
   [- - -]   
   In June, the advisory council appointed by the Liberal government recommended   
   the establishment of a universal, single-payer public pharmacare system.   
      
   Their report calls for the creation of a new drug agency that would draft a   
   national list of prescription medicines that would be covered by the taxpayer,   
   beginning with an initial list of common and essential drugs, by Jan. 1, 2022.   
      
   The Liberals' spring budget included funding to create a national drug agency   
   to negotiate prices, as well as the creation of a drug formulary — a list of   
   drugs that Canadians should be able to access. The moves were seen a step   
   toward a national    
   pharmacare plan but stopped well short.   
      
   The guidelines for the new regulations will be finalized around mid-September,   
   after which there will be a consultation period with the public and working   
   groups. The regulations will formally come into effect on July 1, 2020.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)