Evidence of meeting #121 for Health in the 42nd Parliament, 1st session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was price.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Executive Director, Patented Medicine Prices Review Board
Ultimately, the Minister of Health makes it, but it is subject to ratification by cabinet, by Treasury Board, like any regulation.
NDP
Don Davies NDP Vancouver Kingsway, BC
So cabinet could make this change, if they wanted to, when they want to?
Executive Director, Patented Medicine Prices Review Board
Subject to the strictures of the regulatory process and the duty to consult, etc., yes.
Executive Director, Patented Medicine Prices Review Board
We've been consulting on reforms to our own pricing guidelines since June of 2016. Health Canada put out a proposal in May of 2017 to sort of entrench the types of changes that were being contemplated in our guidelines discussion paper in a white paper. That was in May of 2017, and that eventually morphed into an actual set of proposed regulations that was pre-published in the Canada Gazette, part I, in December of last year, followed by a 75-day consultation period.
NDP
Don Davies NDP Vancouver Kingsway, BC
I have limited time, so I'll stop you there.
I will leave my last question with each of you. It goes back to the secrecy.
Mr. Clark, we talked about how “the PMPRB bases its cost comparisons on public list prices, even though it’s well known that drug companies secretly negotiate substantial discounts and rebates, cutting the true cost of medicines by as much as 50% for some countries.” I would ask you to comment on that.
Ms. Logan, I haven't had an opportunity to really ask you any questions. CADTH is sort of based on the Therapeutics Initiative in British Columbia. We had testimony from Dr. Tom Perry, who said that “it repeated one of the mistakes of the B.C. government, and that is to guarantee secrecy to the pharmaceutical industry's sponsors on the grounds of protecting commercial or trade interests.”
So there's all the research that goes in, secretly paid for; researchers pledged to confidentiality; and all that research of comparing efficacy, not in the public realm. I'd like to hear comments from each of you on that, if I could.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Bill Casey
I'd like to point out that the bells are ringing for a vote. If you could give concise answers to that rather long question, that would be great.
Executive Director, Patented Medicine Prices Review Board
I agree with you that it's problematic. That's why, in the three elements of the regulations I outlined earlier, one of the proposals is to enable us to get access to that information and regulate on the basis of the real prices that are being paid in the market. We would really like to do that.
Acting Vice-President, Pharmaceutical Reviews, Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health
One of the values in our new strategic plan is transparency. That's driving a lot of change within the organization. One of the things we're working hard to implement is to reduce the number of redactions in the reports that are made public. The public will see more and more of what we get from manufacturers rather than less and less. That's because we're committed to transparency.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Bill Casey
Thanks very much.
You've been extremely helpful in painting a very difficult situation. It will be a big challenge for us as a committee to come up with recommendations, and we really appreciate your contribution here. It's been very helpful.
I'm sorry we're having to end early, but we have to go and vote.
The meeting is adjourned.