Changes to Canada’s drug patent system proposed by the European Union (EU) would wipe out savings from the Ontario government’s drug reforms, according to Jim Keon, president of the Canadian Generic Pharmaceutical Association (CGPA).
“The savings achieved for both public and private drug plans through the Ontario government’s 2010 reforms would be wiped out if the EU’s proposals are implemented,” Keon says.
“Canada’s generic pharmaceutical manufacturers worked cooperatively with the Ontario government to implement last year’s reforms. Those savings were supposed to help preserve and enhance Ontario’s healthcare system, not increase profits for brand name drug companies based in Europe.”
Canada and the EU are currently negotiating a comprehensive economic and trade agreement (CETA), which the federal government hopes to conclude by 2012.
As part of these negotiations, the EU has tabled proposals that would considerably lengthen the period of market exclusivity for brand name drugs in Canada and add approximately $1.2 billion annually to Ontario’s prescription drug bill. Of that $1.2 billion, approximately $550 million would be borne by the Ontario government with the remainder, $672 million, coming out of the pockets of patients and employers that sponsor drug plans for their employees.
“At the one-year anniversary of the Ontario government’s drug reforms, we are calling on the government of Ontario and all of the organizations that supported these reforms to step up to the plate and take action to protect those savings,” says Keon. “They need to make their voices heard now to ensure brand name drug companies don’t take Ontario’s healthcare money back to their head offices in Europe.”
Keon points out that pharmaceuticals are one of the EU’s top exports to Canada, comprising 15.6% of total exports with a value of more than $5 billion annually.
Originally posted on CanadianHealthcareNetwork.ca