In 2017, the Patented Medicine Price Review Board released a policy document entitled Protecting Canadians from Excessive Drug Prices. Jane Philpott, then Minister of Health, said, “Canadians are paying too much for prescription drugs” and that “measures (proposed for the PMPRB) will go a long way toward helping Canadians afford the medicines they need to live healthy, productive lives.”
She was right. Experts agreed that the pricing changes would do just that. Over a 10-year period, savings to Canadians are projected to be $8.8 billion.
More than three years after that announcement, implementation continues to be delayed, with another six-month delay announced last month. Each step of the way, lobbyists for Big Pharma have fought tooth and nail to stall and weaken reforms.
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