Debates of Feb. 14th, 2000

Division No. 683

[Some hon. members]

Yea.

[The Deputy Speaker]

All those opposed will please say nay.

[Some hon. members]

Nay.

[The Deputy Speaker]

I declare the motion carried.

(Motion agreed to)

A motion to adjourn the House under Standing Order 38 deemed to have been moved.

[Greg Thompson, Progressive Conservative, Charlotte, NB]

Madam Speaker, I am up tonight in relation to a question I asked the Minister of Health in the House in December 1999, just a few short months ago. It was on the drug approval process, the very cumbersome time delayed process that we have in the country. In that question for the minister I was talking specifically of a cancer drug called Rituxan, which has been approved in 40 other countries of the world but not yet in Canada.

In my hand I have a number of letters supporting the approval process of this drug. We have patients in Canada who could use the drug at this very moment, but it is not available to them simply because of the very cumbersome time delay that the drug approval process has to go through at Health Canada.

The drug in question, Rituxan, is what we call an immunotherapeutic monoclonal antibody which has a unique ability to bind itself to cancer cells without the toxic effects that are often associated with other cancer treating drugs.

What is so disturbing about this process is that other countries have had this drug for the last couple of years. I want to go through the 40 some countries that I mentioned previously. Some of the countries that presently have the drug are Australia, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Netherlands, New Zealand, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the U.S. In total 40 countries can now use this drug to treat patients with non-Hodgkins lymphoma.

The argument could be that we can get the drug under special warrant in Canada, which is absolutely true, but that is a very cumbersome process and a very expensive one. Until that drug is approved by Health Canada no insurance company will cover the its cost. Nor will any health jurisdiction in the country cover it through the medicare system in Canada. In other words, the drug is denied simply because it is not approved. We have to improve upon that process.

We always have to exercise caution in the approval of any drug, but we are talking about a drug that was approved in 40 other jurisdictions. I want to give the minister credit as well because I did speak to him on this privately outside the Chamber in addition to the question that I asked and he has paid some special attention to it.

The information I am now receiving from Health Canada—and we have to be very careful on this because there is no way of saying for sure that this is going to happen—indicates that probably within the next couple of weeks this drug will be approved. I hope this is the case. I am going to give the minister credit for speeding this process along.

The problem is we have to come up with a better way of doing it, realizing that safety always has to be paramount. I want to suggest that we take a very close look at the—

[The Acting Speaker (Ms. Thibeault)]

I am sorry to interrupt, but the time is up.

[Greg Thompson, Progressive Conservative, Charlotte, NB]

Madam Speaker, you did not signal me that I had a minute left. Can you give me an extra minute? I want to finish my speech.

[The Acting Speaker (Ms. Thibeault)]

This is not the rules at this point. The time is over and that is it.

[Greg Thompson, Progressive Conservative, Charlotte, NB]

Could I have unanimous consent to finish? I am giving the minister and the government credit. Madam Speaker, members are entitled to a warning when they have a minute left. I want unanimous consent to have a chance to finish my remarks.

[The Acting Speaker (Ms. Thibeault)]

The hon. member knows very well that at this point there cannot be any request for unanimous consent.

[Yvon Charbonneau, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Health]

Madam Speaker, I am pleased to reply on behalf of the Minister of Health to the question from the hon. member for New Brunswick Southwest concerning the process for approving drugs, specifically Rituxan.

Drugs are authorized for sale in Canada once they have successfully gone through the drug review process. This process is the means by which a drug application is reviewed by scientists in the therapeutic products program of Health Canada to assess the safety, efficacy and quality of a drug.

Throughout the process the safety and well-being of Canadians is the paramount concern. Health Canada strives to make significant therapeutic advances available to Canadians as quickly as possible consistent with public safety.

Health Canada's objective is to be competitive internationally with respect to drug review and approval and, during the past five years, it has cut in half the time needed to review the average presentation.

Health Canada has been and continues to be committed to ensuring the greatest efficiencies in the drug review process. To do this, the therapeutic product program in consultation with stakeholders is pursuing several initiatives to further streamline the process.

Rituxan is a new drug for the treatment of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. So far, it has not been approved in Canada, but patients can obtain it through the special access program. Practitioners sometimes resort to drugs not approved in Canada for the treatment of serious or life-threatening illnesses, when conventional treatments have been unsuccessful or are not appropriate.

In such situations the therapeutic products program of Health Canada has a mandate to authorize the sale of these drugs to practitioners. This mandate is administered by the special access program of the TPP. This special program is—

[The Acting Speaker (Ms. Thibeault)]

I am afraid I must interrupt the hon. member as the time is over.

The motion to adjourn the House is now deemed to have been adopted. Accordingly, this House stands adjourned until tomorrow at 10 a.m., pursuant to Standing Order 24(1).

(The House adjourned at 8.22 p.m.)