For the third time running, 颅federal Health Minister Patty Hajdu has delayed the 颅introduction of new rules to reduce the price of drugs.
The reason for these rules, proposed by Ottawa鈥檚 Patented Medicines Prices Review Board, is to put an end of the 颅scandalously high prices sa国际传媒 pays.
Among 32 developed 颅countries, we pay more for 颅prescription medications than all but three. As a result, we now spend more on drugs than we do on physicians.
When the new pricing regime was first proposed in July 2020, pharmaceutical firms protested volubly, and gained a deferral. Then, when the deferral ran out and the new regime was poised to go, the industry offered Ottawa a $1-billion bribe to water down the rules. Although the bribe was refused, there was another deferral.
Now Hajdu has announced a third delay, till January 2022. The reason she gave is that the industry is too burdened with making COVID-19 vaccines to respond.
There鈥檚 a scene in the Brit comedy Yes, Minister where a memo written by Sir Humphrey is returned to him with 鈥渞ound objects鈥� scribbled in the margin. At his pedantic best, Humphrey asks: 鈥淲ho is Round, and to what does he object?鈥�
So, round objects. First off, there are more than 100 major pharmaceutical companies, worldwide, and only a handful are making COVID-19 vaccines.
Second, no one is asking them to take on more work. What we鈥檙e telling them is that we鈥檙e cutting the median prices that sa国际传媒 will pay.
Since they鈥檝e known this for at least two years (work behind the scenes has gone on that long), they鈥檝e had all the time they need to fire up their 颅lobbying.
To sharpen the discussion, I聽want to focus on a specific 颅category of drugs, and show why we should be concerned.
The medications in question are expensive drugs for rare diseases, or EDRDs. Expensive means annual treatment costs per patient of $100,000 or more for non-cancer medications (some can reach $2 million a year), and $7,500 a month or more for cancer drugs.
Rare means a disease with an incidence of less than one 颅person per 100,000 population. In sa国际传媒, that translates to about 50 patients.
So if these cases are so rare, what is the concern?
First, there has been a huge expansion of EDRD drugs.
In sa国际传媒, only one such medication was approved for use in 1997. By 2018, that 颅number had climbed to 40 for non-cancer, and 39 for cancer, and that trend is continuing.
EDRDs are now the fastest-growing segment in the pharmaceutical sector.
In part, this explains why less than one per cent of the 颅Canadian population now accounts for 42 per cent of patented drug sales.
Pharmaceutical companies argue, of course, that since the market for these medications is small, they need high prices to recoup their R&D.
More round objects. A few excerpts from a report by the World Health Organization in 2018: 鈥淭he price for 颅lomustine 鈥� a treatment for brain tumours, lung cancer and 颅Hodgkin Lymphoma 鈥� increased by 1,400 per cent between 2013 and 2017.鈥�
Again, 鈥淚n total, 99 cancer medicines generated 鈥� an average return of $14.50 US in sales income for every dollar invested.鈥�
The WHO鈥檚 conclusion: 鈥淚n summary cancer medications, through high prices, have 颅generated revenues 鈥� in excess of R&D costs.鈥� That鈥檚 one reason the pharmaceutical industry is the most profitable sector of the U.S. economy.
It was to rein in this 颅overpricing that the Patented Medicines Prices Review Board proposed reforms.
It is these reforms that Hajdu has now three times kicked down the road.
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