WAITING FOR NEW DRUGS IN CANADA

Access to new medicines in Canada is delayed or blocked by government policies and drug plans, says the Fraser Institute.

A recent Fraser Institute report measured the length of time patients must wait to access new drugs in Canada:

• In 2006, the average length of time taken by Health Canada to approve the use of new medicines was 380 days.
• The subsequent delay resulting from the provincial approval or reimbursement for new drugs averaged 323 days.
• Including both the national delay and the provincial delay, the total average wait time for new patients dependent on public drug benefits for insured access to new medicines was 703 days, or 1.9 years, in 2006.

To make matters worse, 39 percent of drugs approved by Health Canada in 2006 were declared ineligible for reimbursement under provincial drug plans. Patients who were dependent on public drug plans were covered for less than half of the new drugs approved for sale by Health Canada.

By comparison, patients covered by private insurance plans who could afford to purchase these drugs on their own had access to virtually all of Canada's newly approved drugs.

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