Q&A with Michel Robidoux of Sandoz Canada CGPA: You’re the Vice-Chair of the CGPA. What’s the most important part of your job? Michel: Making patient care more affordable across the country. Generic medication is as safe and effective as the brand-name versions, but costs significantly less. In fact, some of the most prescribed generic medicines come with a price tag that's 90% lower than the same brand-name medication. That means 10 different patients can be treated for the same cost treating just one patient with the brand-name version, so our work has huge impact on both affordability and access to care. CGPA: And you’re also the President and General Manager of Sandoz Canada, which is headquartered in Quebec. How important is the generic pharmaceutical industry to your province? Michel: Extremely important. The industry employs thousands of Quebecers in life-sciences, technology and manufacturing jobs. These are the kinds of jobs that support our communities and stimulate our economy. CGPA: In our last interview with your colleague, Michael B. Sine, we talked about the fact that Ontario would save more than $409 million dollars if it increased its use of generics by only 1%. How much would Quebec save if it did the same thing? Michel: Next to Ontario, Quebec would stand to save the most by increasing its use of generics. A 1% increase alone would translate to $284 million in savings. Overall, the majority of Quebecers understand the importance of generics and are committed to supporting the industry. In fact, 79% of all prescriptions in Quebec are filled with generic medications—that’s more than any other province in the country. CGPA: Sounds like the rest of Canada could learn a thing or two from the people of Quebec. Michel: Of course! After all, we do have the best food, the best nightlife and the best hockey team. CGPA: I’m sure there are a lot of Toronto Maple Leafs fans who would disagree. Michel: We are all Canadian after all…so let's bring the Cup back to Canada.
Canadian Generic Pharmaceutical Association’s Post
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At a time when drug shortages are already an alarming issue, the last thing Canada should do is limit the number of companies who can supply the market with much-needed medication. But that's what risky tendering schemes do. By limiting the number of suppliers for a given medicine, tendering increases the risk of drug shortages, which could actually lead to higher prices in the long-term as manufacturers are forced out of the market. Even more concerningly, a 2020 study published in CMAJ Open found that it was more likely for a drug to be in shortage in Canada if only one company was supplying the market. That's why we have to ensure that the most meaningful potential benefits of enhanced drug coverage aren't overshadowed by pricing schemes that reduce the availability of cost-saving generic and biosimilar medicines. To learn more about how pricing affects both affordability and access to much-needed medication, check out our full report on International Pricing and Canada's Generic Prescription Medicines. https://lnkd.in/ecqDJA4W
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With record numbers of shortages, the UK Government needs to take more action to protect UK medicine security and build future supply chain resilience by making the UK a better market for generics manufacturers to supply. Key to this will be: - Resolving licensing delays at the MHRA - Investment to support domestic manufacturing of both innovative and everyday generic drugs - Rethinking the Voluntary Scheme for Branded Medicines Pricing, Access and Growth (VPAG) rebate that manufacturers pay the UK Government Ultimately, given the huge reliance the NHS has on these medicines, the generic and biosimilar market needs to be more of a priority for government going forward. Read more on this issue from BGMA CEO Mark Samuels and Community Pharmacy England (CPE) Director of Pharmacy Funding, Michael Dent in this recent article in The Pharmacist: https://lnkd.in/ey3ymG-t #drugshortages #medicinesupply #healthpolicy
Concern UK ‘will not be top of the list’ for global drug shortages
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Wonder Drug Consulting. Experienced reimbursement & pricing consultant. Creator of MAESTrO Database.
The new CADTH Target Zero initiative aims to improve the time to access for patients in Canada for new drugs that are proven to be effective. The ambitious goal of Target Zero is to achieve zero days between Health Canada’s regulatory approval of a drug and CADTH’s reimbursement recommendation to participating public drug plans. It means that CADTH will issue a recommendation on the use of a given medicine on the same day that Health Canada issues a Notice of Compliance (aka approval) on its use. This goal is indeed ambitious but has zero chance of ever being achieved. Surely CADTH will want to know the approved indication (patient population) of a medicine before it can issue a recommendation on its use. Does this mean all CADTH recommendations on Day Zero will be positive? Will CADTH know the prices of all newly approved medicines on Day Zero? The real issue here is the period from the date of Health Canada approval to the date of (provincial) reimbursement. #marketaccess #Canada #reimbursement #timelines #hta #healthtechnology #datascience #medicine https://lnkd.in/gZeAUBMK
New Target Zero Initiative Aims to Help Improve Access to New Drugs
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📢 Exciting news for the Danish #pharma sector: the Danish Ministry of the Interior and Health has just proposed a bill that, for a 3-year test period commencing on 1 July 2025, will authorize the Lægemiddelstyrelsen (Danish Medicines Agency) to grant reimbursement for primary sector medicines based on confidential price reductions agreed upon with the supplier. 💊 Eligible medicines are: - new, expensive medicines, - medicines where the DKMA conducts a reassessment of subsidy status, and - medicines where it has been decided to shift the treatment of a disease area from the hospital sector to the primary care sector. 💵 Reimbursement will be granted if it is expected to decrease the regions’ overall expenses related to subsidized medicine. The regional procurement organization, Amgros I/S, handles negotiations for a confidential price on the medicine with the company bringing the medicine to the Danish market. Participation in the negotiations for a confidential price agreement is voluntary for the company. 💸 According to the proposal, the company must (re)pay the regions the difference between the official list price and the negotiated confidential price for all sold packages of the relevant medicine, including parallel-imported and distributed medicines. However, it may be part of the negotiations between the company and Amgros I/S that the company only provides partial reimbursement for packages sold by parallel importers and distributors. The proposal states that, in relation to voluntarily agreed price cap agreements for the primary care sector, the negotiated confidential price will apply as the cap. The proposal is now in public hearing. All concerned parties have until 13 December 2024 to comment. 👇
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At a time when many health issues are worsening across Europe, new research by Teva Pharmaceuticals shows that Europe’s medicine cabinets are housing fewer generic medicines. Over the last ten years, the number of generic medicines withdrawn from the market increased by 12%, while on average 3% fewer generics products were launched. This, despite the fact that the EU itself recently warned that, “EU countries must continue to prepare to face the “epidemic” of chronic diseases”. It’s an alarming tendency and one that we should be addressing collectively, to safeguard these essential medicine, ensuring access for the patients who need them. To read Teva’s research in full and discover our recommendations, click here https://bit.ly/49Yv8Yr
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We are honored to share the significant remarks made by the Minister of Health, Mr. Adonis Georgiadis, who highlighted IFET's efforts to reduce pharmaceutical expenditure through strategic channels. Minister Georgiadis emphasized that ensuring uninterrupted access for patients in Greece to both existing and new innovative treatments is a top priority. His acknowledgment of our work underscores the critical role IFET plays in balancing cost-efficiency with the need to provide cutting-edge medical solutions. By streamlining our processes and adopting innovative strategies, we are committed to enhancing patient care and ensuring that advanced treatments are accessible to all who need them. This recognition inspires us to continue our mission with renewed vigor, always prioritizing the health and well-being of our patients. #IFETGreece #IFET #HealthcareInnovation #PublicHealth #PharmaceuticalExpenditure #IFET2024
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The Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) oversees the Regulatory pathway for complementary medicines in Australia. Discover how the TGA categorizes products into Listed, Assessed Listed, and Registered medicines and learn the specific requirements for each. Check out our visual guide for a clear overview. https://lnkd.in/dZbKCDnP #Australia #TGA #ComplementaryMedicines #FreyrSolutions #RegulatoryAffairs
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