On February 6 2018 the Patented Medicine Prices Review Board (PMPRB) announced the publication of the most recent edition of its series of reports on generic drug pricing. Generics360 compares generic drug prices in Canada with those in other countries, with a particular focus on the PMPRB comparator countries known as the 'PMPRB7' (ie, France, Germany, Italy, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States). The report examines the prices of 605 leading generic drugs and indicates that average generic drug prices in Canada fell from 63% to 33% of their brand-name counterparts between the first quarter of 2010 and the fourth quarter of 2016. The report further indicates that Canada has narrowed the gap between its generic drug prices and those of foreign markets, although the average prices of generic drugs remain higher in Canada than internationally. In addition, although not factored into the published results, the report describes a joint initiative announced on January 29 2018 on behalf of:

  • participating federal, provincial and territorial drug plans;
  • the pan-Canadian Pharmaceutical Alliance; and
  • the Canadian Generic Pharmaceutical Association.

As part of this five-year initiative:

  • price discounts of 25% to 40% on some of the most commonly prescribed drugs in Canada (resulting in total discounts of up to 90% of their brand-name counterparts) will take effect on April 1 2018;(1) and
  • tendering will not be pursued by participating drug plans.

For further information on this topic please contact Andrew Mandlsohn at Smart & Biggar/Fetherstonhaugh by telephone (+1 416 593 5514) or email ([email protected]). The Smart & Biggar/Fetherstonhaugh website can be accessed at www.smart-biggar.ca.

Endnotes

(1) A list of the generic drugs is available here.

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