Posted by Michael Wonder on 28 Jun 2018
High cost specialty drugs continue to dominate the new drug landscape
26 June 2018 - The Patented Medicine Prices Review Board, through the National Prescription Drug Utilisation Information System research initiative, today published the second annual edition of Meds Entry Watch.
The report series, which provides the latest information on new drugs launched in Canada and select international markets, is designed to inform decision makers, researchers, and patients of the evolving market dynamics relating to emerging drugs. The 2016 edition of Meds Entry Watch identifies new active substances launched in 2015 and 2016, and analyzes their availability, pricing, and sales as of the end of 2016.
Important new drugs have been launched since 2009, accounting for nearly one quarter of brand-name drug sales in Canada by 2016. In line with trends observed from 2009 to 2014, the study found that high-priced speciality drugs such as those used to treat rare diseases, biologic drugs and oncology drugs, continue to dominate the new drug landscape in 2015 and 2016, both in Canada and internationally. The report also found that while Canada launched more new drugs than most OECD countries, it launched fewer than all PMPRB comparator countries, including many with lower average patented drug prices.
