Health Canada delays drug-pricing reforms, citing COVID challenges for manufacturers

Health Canada says it’s delaying its long-awaited overhaul of drug-pricing regulations by another six months.

While pharmaceutical manufacturers and patient advocates welcomed the decision, they say the federal government needs to go back to the drawing board for Canada to stay competitive in the global marketplace for medical innovation.

A Health Canada spokesman confirmed to The Canadian Press that the rollout of regulatory changes that would give Canada’s drugpricing watchdog sweeping new powers has been pushed from Jan. 1 to July 1.

In an email, Geoffroy Legault-Thivierge said the delay is intended to give pharmaceutical companies more time to adjust to new reporting requirements while dealing with the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Stakeholders involved in the consultation process were notified of the change on Dec. 30, two days before the amendments were set to take effect, Legault-Thivierge said.

The postponement marks the latest setback in the yearslong battle over the federal plan to recalibrate how the arm’s-length Patented Medicine Prices Review Board calculates fair drug prices.

Canada pays some of the highest prices in the world for patented medicines, Legault-Thivierge said, and the new regulatory regime will allow the review board to rein in surging costs.

But drug manufacturers and patient advocates have condemned the changes on the grounds that they could stifle scientific innovation and reduce access to medical therapies.