Last week the Patented Medicine Prices Review Board (PMPRB) presented its 2021 Annual Report  to Federal Health Minister Duclos in accordance with its reporting mandate outlined in sections 89 and 100 of the Patent Act. Key statistics reinforce concerns about Canada’s continued attractiveness for new medicine launch since drug price reform began in 2017. 

The number of new medicines reported to PMPRB declined 45% in 2021 over 2018, continuing the worrying trend about the number of new, innovative medicines being launched in Canada. 

This is compared to FDA Novel Drug Approvals which were steady throughout these years (~15% lower in 2021 versus 2018); and EMA New Active Substance approvals were 26% higher versus 2018.  According to the report, the 59 New Patented Medicines reported to PMPRB in 2021 represents the lowest number of new medicines reported in PMPRB’s history. 

Other notable findings

• Sales-weighted average foreign-to-Canadian price ratios show Canadian prices as 3rd highest among the PMPRB7 with Canadian prices lower than US and Switzerland, and highest among PMPRB11. 
• PMPRB reports a 0.4% increase in the national Average Transaction Price for patented medicines in 2021 despite a 3.4% increase in CPI.
• There has been an increase (12.2%) in the amount of R&D Investment PMPRB reported the pharmaceutical industry made in 2021 over 2020. However, the definition of R&D Expenditures used by PMPRB has been challenged as undervaluing the contributions of the industry given Statistics Canada data which estimated R&D expenditures in 2019 to be $2.2 Billion.

HDAP meeting tentatively scheduled for Spring 2023
PMPRB has tentatively scheduled a meeting of the Human Drug Advisory Panel (HDAP) on May 15, 2023. The purpose of the meeting is to address reconsiderations related to existing medicines given proposed updates to the PMPRB Guidelines (currently under consultation) suggest only a limited, ad hoc role for HDAP concerning new medicines. Rights holders interested to make a submission for this meeting agenda should submit electronically by February 16, 2023. For more information please consult PMPRB’s HDAP Meeting Schedule and Filing Requirements.

For more information, see the PMPRB 2021 Annual Report, or contact Dylan Lamb-Palmer, Associate Director, Pricing & Data Analytics at Dylan.Lamb-Palmer@pdci.ca for any pricing and PMRPB questions.