21 August 2019 - Canadian Health Policy Institute, a Toronto-based private-sector think-tank established in 2012, has published several studies that bolster the arguments of critics opposed to new regulatory guidelines proposed by the Patented Medicine Prices Review Board. 

The regulations will drastically depress the price ceiling for patented medicines sold in Canada. Empirical research suggests that this will likely reduce new drug launches and discourage industry-funded clinical trials in Canada. Analysis of the PMPRB’s own data show that there is no health spending crisis related to the prices of patented medicines that justifies new regulation. In fact, the weight of available evidence suggests the guidelines could lead to higher total healthcare costs by hindering clinical access to efficient innovative pharmaceutical treatment technologies. 

Moreover, a detailed examination of the regulations found the proposed pricing rules to be arbitrary and based on questionable assumptions; and raised serious technical concerns about the proposed methods for determining price ceilings.

Read Canadian Health Policy Institute article