Market Access News

Great-West Life introduces the SMART drug plan   In June 2017, Great-West Life is introducing the SMART drug plan, aiming for Sustainable, Managed and Reasonable Treatment. Like Manulife’s DrugWatch, SMART will bring more rigourous review to selected new drugs and indications and likely delay product entry into its formularies.  Great-West Life indicates its reviews will not only rely on the Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technology in Health (CADTH).  As…

pan-Canadian Pharmaceutical Alliance (pCPA): Negotiation Status Updates   The latest update as of May 31, 2017 has been issued by the pan-Canadian Pharmaceutical Alliance Office (pCPAO). The key highlights are as follows: Nine new drug products have initiated pCPA negotiations since the last update, for a total of 43 active negotiations Four negotiations have been completed since the last update, for a total of 153 joint negotiations. No new drug…

Changes, Updates and Reminders Related to CDR Guidelines   On Friday, June 9th, CADTH issued a CDR Update with a number of changes, updates, and reminders that are worth reviewing. The key highlights are: Two Process Changes Guidance for Subsequent Entry Non-Biological Complex Drugs Revised Documentation for Resubmissions Two Reminders (In-person CDR Meetings/Confidential Prices) Communication with Consultants Further detail, which has been drawn from the CDR Update, can be found…

INESSS Introduces New Pre-NOC and Biosimilar Guidance   The Institut national d'excellence en santé et en services sociaux (INESSS) released its new submission guidelines on June 2nd, 2017. The guidelines, which are now effective, include revised and new Form applications and letter templates for drug submissions. The two major highlights relate to pre-NOC review and the introduction of new guidelines for biosimilar submissions. Pre-NOC Review Unlike the CADTH pre-NOC guidelines…

The MORSE KEY: Upcoming Events and Conferences There a number of conferences and events that individuals in market access may be interested in for the upcoming month: Government/Agencies June 1 – INESSS Formulary Update June 4 – E-Health (Toronto, ON) June 12-13 – Value-based healthcare: Embracing a patient and family-centered approach (Vancouver, BC) June 21 – Targeted CDEC Meeting June 22 – PMPRB Patentee Submission Due June 28 – Conclusion…

Consultations Commence for Major Changes to Canadian Pharmaceutical Policy   On May 16, 2017, the Federal Minister of Health, the Hon. Jane Philpott presented several major announcements, which are likely to have significant impacts on both national and provincial/territorial pharmaceutical policy.  The announcements covered an array of developments including: changes to the regulations that govern how the Patented Medicine Prices Review Board (PMPRB) operates; enhancing the capacity of the pan-Canadian…

pan-Canadian Pharmaceutical Alliance (pCPA): Negotiation Status Update   The latest update as of April 30, 2017 has been issued by the pan-Canadian Pharmaceutical Alliance Office (pCPAO). The key highlights are as follows: Nine new products have initiated pCPA negotiations since the last update, for a total of 38 active negotiations: Cosentyx (secukinumab) – psoriatic arthritis Cosentyx (secukinumab) – ankylosing spondylitis Erelzi (etanercept) – ankylosing spondylitis, polyarticular juvenile idiopathic arthritis, and…

Ontario Update   The Annual Report Card for the Ontario Drug Benefit Program for their 2015/16 fiscal year has been released. The Report Card provides an overview of the year including financial indicators, cost trends, formulary process & listing times and highlights the Program’s milestones and achievements. We have included some of the key highlights below: Total health expenditures in Ontario in 2015 were $55B Drugs accounted for 8.8% of…

There a number of conferences and events that individuals in market access may be interested in for the upcoming month: Government/Agencies May 17 – Targeted CDEC Meeting May 25 – PMPRB Form 1 Due May 29 – PMPRB HDAP Meeting Associations May 6-10 - 2017 CAPDM Annual Conference: A Working Summit (Scottsdale, USA) May 10 - Vaccine Innovation Conference (Montreal, QC) May 11-12 – Cochrane Canada Symposium (Hamilton, ON) May…

Ontario Update   The Ontario Drug Benefit (ODB) Formulary / Comparative Drug Index (Formulary) has been updated and becomes effective April 27, 2017. The highlights are noted below: New Limited Use (LU) products: Entresto (sacubitril & valsartan) for the treatment of heart failure (Novartis) Creon Minimicrospheres (pancrelipase) as replacement therapy for pancreatic insufficiency (BGP Pharma) Product with revised Limited Use criteria: Brilinta (ticagrelor) for treatment of myocardial infarctions or unstable…

pan-Canadian Pharmaceutical Alliance (pCPA): Negotiation Status Update   The latest update as of March 31, 2017 has been issued by the pan-Canadian Pharmaceutical Alliance Office (pCPAO). The key highlights are as follows: Three new products have initiated pCPA negotiations since the last update, for a total of 30 active negotiations: Afinitor (everolimus) for a new indication - treatment of neuroendocrine tumours of gastrointestinal or lung origin Campral (acamprosate calcium) used…

pan-Canadian Pharmaceutical Alliance (pCPA): Negotiation Status Update   The pan-Canadian Pharmaceutical Alliance Office (pCPAO) updated the status of negotiations on brand name drugs as of February 28, 2017. There are currently 33 negotiations underway with one new file – Eylea (aflibercept) was added since the last update on January 31, 2017. There have been 142 joint negotiations completed with 8 files successfully negotiated since the last update of January 31, 2017: Daklinza…

Health Canada Update   On March 10, 2017, Health Canada issued a guidance document which describes how it discloses confidential business information (CBI). This guidance document is meant for: health researchers, health professionals, patient groups, pharmaceutical industries, and medical device industries. The federal Minister of Health is authorized to disclose CBI to people to protect or promote public health or safety. As noted on the Health Canada website: “This guidance…

CAPCA has initiated consultations with stakeholders on its recent initiative aimed at addressing the challenges facing the oncology drug system.   The Canadian Association of Provincial Cancer Agencies (CAPCA) recently held its first set of round-table sessions (Vancouver and Toronto) with pharmaceutical industry representatives and patient groups to discuss the pan-Canadian Cancer Drug Funding Sustainability (DFS) Initiative. This initiative was initially introduced via webinars in January and February 2017 and…