The Patented Medicine Prices Review Board’s
2024-25 Departmental plan at a glance
A departmental plan describes a department’s priorities, plans and associated costs for the upcoming three fiscal years.
Key priorities
- Develop and implement new PMPRB Guidelines that respond to feedback from consulted groups
The PMPRB is focused on consulting with interested groups to inform the development and implementation of new price review Guidelines. Transparency and responsive engagement will be prioritized in this process to ensure that the final Guidelines are reflective of the PMPRB’s mandate and any changes to the price review process are effectively communicated.
- Support access to high-quality information on the pharmaceutical market in Canada
The PMPRB will draw on its expertise and resources to provide Canadians with accurate, neutral information on the pharmaceutical market, publishing analytic reports on relevant pharmaceutical trends in Canada and internationally.
Refocusing Government Spending
In Budget 2023, the government committed to reducing spending by $14.1 billion over the next five years, starting in 2023–24, and by $4.1 billion annually after that.
While not officially part of this spending reduction exercise, the PMPRB will respect the spirit of this exercise by doing the following:
- Reviewing contract and travel expenditures to assess appropriate allocation of spending;
- Implementing new guidance on procurement decision-making for cost centre managers; and
- Encouraging responsible travel planning by promoting alternative options.
The figures in this departmental plan reflect these efforts.
Highlights
A Departmental Results Framework consists of an organization’s core responsibilities, the results it plans to achieve, and the performance indicators that measure progress toward these results.
It should be noted that the language used in this Departmental Plan regarding the PMPRB’s mandate should be understood in the context of the PMPRB’s legal authorities as set out by the Patent Act and the recent jurisprudence.
Namely, while the PMPRB has the power to order that the price of a medicine be reduced to a non-excessive level following a public hearing, the PMPRB cannot set or mandate prices for patented medicines. Rather, the PMPRB can review the prices of patented medicines and, where it has reason to believe that those prices may be excessive, initiate public hearings to determine whether the prices are, in fact, excessive. The PMPRB publishes non-binding Guidelines which explain the procedures used to determine whether the price of a patented medicine warrants a more in-depth review in the form of an investigation which may lead to a public hearing. The PMPRB has minimal capacity to hold hearings that would lead to binding price reduction orders and while the Guidelines influence pricing behaviour in Canada, they cannot mandate it.
Consequently, the majority of the “results” related to Canadian pricing reported herein are not within the PMPRB’s ability to control directly. Similarly, because the determination of whether a price is excessive must be done on a case-by-case basis in the context of a public hearing, the “target” reported herein (median Canadian price in the PMPRB comparator countries) is for comparative purposes only and does not presuppose that Canadian prices above the median price in the comparator countries are excessive or vice-versa.
Regulate Patented Medicine Prices
Departmental results:
- AffordableFootnote 1 patented drug prices
Planned spending: $14,316,813
Planned human resources: 58
To meet its core responsibility and key priorities for 2024-25, the PMPRB will be working to operationalize recent changes to the Patented Medicine Regulations through the consultation on and development of final price review Guidelines.
The PMPRB will continue to build its library of analytic reporting on pharmaceutical trends by exploring new research areas that respond to the needs and interests of Canadian and international readers. The PMPRB will also leverage its analytic expertise and data to support partners in the healthcare sector across Canada as they work to advance federal government priorities and initiatives.
More information about Regulate Patented Medicine Prices can be found in the full departmental plan.
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