15 August 2019 - Private plan sponsors can expect to see lower drug prices resulting from recent changes to the Patented Medicine Prices Review Board, but there may also be unintended consequences.

The reforms, announced Aug. 9 and expected to come into effect July 1, 2020, will update the reference countries Canada uses to compare its prices internationally. They’ll eliminate the U.S. and Switzerland, which are the only two countries with higher patented drug prices than Canada, and add Japan, Spain, Norway, Australia, Belgium and the Netherlands.

They’ll also provide the PMPRB with the market price of medicines in Canada, adding any possible rebates, instead of the inflated sticker price to allow the board to better assess whether a drug price is reasonable when setting its ceiling price, and give the board the ability to consider whether the drug’s price reflects its value to patients.

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