10 February 2025 - Canadian patients are waiting, on average, more than 65 weeks longer than Europeans and over 90 weeks more than Americans for access to new, potentially life-saving drugs, finds a new study released today by the Fraser Institute, an independent, non-partisan, Canadian public policy think-tank.

"Innovative new medicines can have a profound impact on the health and wellbeing of those suffering from illness. Unfortunately, Canadians are often denied these benefits for months, if not years, waiting for government to approve drugs already deemed safe and effective by regulators in the European Union and United States," said Kristina Acri, senior fellow at the Fraser Institute and author of Timely Access to new Pharmaceuticals in Canada, the United States, and the European Union.

The study finds that of the 194 drugs approved in both Canada and the United States between 2019/20 and 2024/25, approval was granted an average of over 90 weeks earlier in the United States.

Read Fraser Institute press release