Health committee  This is probably a better question for someone else.

Health committee  I think what I was referring to, and the witness from the medical students association also referred to it.... Already, as I said, over the past four years, on the generic side of the business, we have negotiated what's called a tiered pricing framework. When a product is more di

Health committee  Well, I'm telling you that we already negotiate.

Health committee  There is a study saying it was $7 billion. We criticized that study and do not accept the results of it.

Health committee  You're right that the utilization of generics in the private plans is lower. As you said, I think the benefit of generics is what we often refer to as headroom. If you save on the cost of older medications by using generics, you can then better afford the cost of some of the new

Health committee  Yes.

Health committee  One hundred per cent of the time they do work effectively. Health Canada would not approve them if they were not equivalent—

Health committee  I can't comment on that case. All I can do is reassure you that Health Canada approved these drugs. Provincial drug programs—

Health committee  —provincial drug programs review them, put them on the formulary, and pay for them because they work and are effective. Seven out of 10 prescriptions—

Health committee  Generic drugs are equivalent to the originator products.

Health committee  I cannot comment on this specific case.

Health committee  But they are equivalent. They are approved by the federal government and provincial governments, and all payers.

Health committee  Medical doctors and pharmacists trust them every day in Canada.

Health committee  That's not realistic. New medicines are very important, as Mr. Casey said. They are protected by patents for 20 years. During that time, generics cannot be sold. After patents expire, after companies have had an opportunity to recoup their investment and invest in new medicines,

Health committee  That's an excellent question. The follow-on biologic products are referred to as “biosimilars” or, currently in the Health Canada legislation, “subsequent-entry biologics”. They are entering the marketplace in Canada. We now have five products approved in Canada. There are gener