Industry committee  With regard to the generic pharmaceutical industry, Quebec is an attractive market. We have major plants in Montreal, specifically Pharmascience, which is the largest pharmaceutical manufacturer in Quebec. Our industry continues to invest in that province. The problem you referred to applies more to brand-name pharmaceutical companies who have seen patents on a number of their products expire.

Industry committee  Could I ask you to repeat the last part, please?

Industry committee  Yes, many of our companies have patents on manufacturing methods, for instance. One of the attributes of the generic pharmaceutical industry is that they are very efficient at manufacturing and distributing large numbers of products. Our large companies could be making 300, 400, or 500 different products.

Industry committee  All right. Thank you.

Industry committee  Thank you very much, Mr. Chair and honourable members of the committee, for providing Canada's generic pharmaceutical industry with the opportunity to contribute to your study of our domestic intellectual property regime. As you mentioned, I am joined today by Ben Gray. Ben is vice-president and general counsel at Mylan Pharmaceuticals in Canada.

Health committee  Sure. It's fairly common among all manufacturers.

Health committee  From the generic company perspective, we have been urging Health Canada to put more resources into drug approval for some time. We have been unhappy with the length of time it takes for drug approvals. On average, it can take 17 to 18 months for a new generic. There is a process in place, and the minister has now responded with an expedited system when necessary drugs are in shortage.

Health committee  That can happen sometimes.

Health committee  I don't have data for you today. Companies sometimes get approval and then find that they are unable to supply a product.

Health committee  I think the issue of drug shortages has been in the media and has been known for some time. Somebody made reference to surveys that pharmacists have done. We've been addressing this, among other issues, with MPs for quite some time. The other point I would make is that we also address this very regularly with the provinces when we talk to them.

Health committee  We are currently reporting on a voluntary basis because there are no regulations. As we have already explained, our companies are doing everything possible to report on current and future shortages. We are therefore working with all of the stakeholders in the sector and in cooperation with Health Canada, and we are prepared to continue doing this.

Health committee  Our companies are providing anticipated shortages. If they know six months in advance, they would do so. Often, unfortunately, they do not know that.

Health committee  We have been working with the multi-stakeholder group—which includes doctors, pharmacists, hospital groups, manufacturers, and wholesalers—to put in place the most useful reporting system. We have developed information. Our members are all participating in it. They are all supplying the information.

Health committee  I think you heard from Sandoz about the history of their situation. In regard to some of the shortages, I think I might ask Dr. Desai to respond.

Health committee  There are two different systems: one for the retail pharmacy pricing and the other for the hospital pricing. With hospital pricing, prices are determined essentially by a tendering system and negotiations with the large buyers and other health care suppliers such as HealthPRO. That is a true marketplace price as a result of that bidding, and we've had several comments about whether there are several suppliers or whether it's just winner take all.