Federal government proposes changes designed to drop cost of patented drugs
OTTAWA — The federal government says it is trying to drive down drug prices by proposing changes to the regulations governing patented medicines in the first major update to those rules in more than two decades.
The potential changes include an expanded list of countries Canada can use when comparing patented drug prices, Health Canada says.
They also include new factors the Patented Medicine Prices Review Board can take into consideration when assessing whether a drug is overpriced.
The review board has previously benchmarked Canadian prices against seven other countries — nations with some of the highest prices in the world, including the United States, where patented drugs cost twice as much. The new list will have 12 countries, which the department said will offer a more balanced look at market prices.