Promoting access to research would speed up innovation and lower costs, says advocate
The cost of drugs continues to be a concern for many Canadians, and various groups have proposed solutions ranging from a national pharmacare system to programs that educate Canadians about lower-cost alternatives to brand-name drugs. One more solution has been added to this list: improving access to health research for drug development.
“In 2015, Canadian taxpayers spent $15.2 billion on patented drug products, a 9.5% increase from 2014,” Chloe Stone, a nursing student and Canadian health-policy advocate, said in a think piece published by the Calgary Herald.
According to Stone, Canada pays the third-highest price per pill in the world, after the US and Germany. The country also pays 28% more than the median amount paid by OECD countries. “The problem is that the [Patented Medicines Prices Review Board] sets the prices in Canada by using the median price of seven developed countries — Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Sweden, Switzerland and the United States — where prices are also inflated,” she said. The inclusion of US prices, whose median is 2.6 times the Canadian price, is a significant factor.
Another issue is the terms of exclusivity offered to drug developers. When the Patent Act was established in 1987, Stone said, patent terms were also extended to 20 years.
She also asserted that Canadian taxpayers actually pay twice for patented medicines. The Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) invests $1 billion of taxpayer money yearly to health research. “When this research is patented and sold to the private sector, taxpayers’ money is privatized, and pharmaceutical companies reap the profits on the final product once it reaches the market,” Stone said.
The key to lowering the high prices of patented drugs, she said, is for the government to institute a policy promoting “public research in the public interest.” Citing a proposal by the Universities Allied for Essential Medicines (UAEM), a student-driven organization, Stone said CIHI funding should be made conditional on equitable, needs-driven, and transparent licensing.
“[F]unding would be given to research institutions willing to openly license their research findings, meaning that anyone in the scientific community would have access to it,” she explained. “This would speed up innovation, foster a collaborative and transparent scientific community, and make medicines available at lower prices to consumers once they reach the market.”
UAEM is pushing for this policy through its Take Back Our Medicines campaign, which aims to increase awareness of equitable, needs-driven and transparent licensing. Stone said the University of British Columbia has already committed to global access licensing, which seeks equitable access to the products of biomedical research at universities. Other Canadian universities have also adopted alternative R&D initiatives to work toward similar goals.
“Canada needs to step up and take a leadership position in creating a new biomedical R&D system that allows everyone to afford access to life-saving medicines, both at home and abroad,” she said.
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“In 2015, Canadian taxpayers spent $15.2 billion on patented drug products, a 9.5% increase from 2014,” Chloe Stone, a nursing student and Canadian health-policy advocate, said in a think piece published by the Calgary Herald.
According to Stone, Canada pays the third-highest price per pill in the world, after the US and Germany. The country also pays 28% more than the median amount paid by OECD countries. “The problem is that the [Patented Medicines Prices Review Board] sets the prices in Canada by using the median price of seven developed countries — Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Sweden, Switzerland and the United States — where prices are also inflated,” she said. The inclusion of US prices, whose median is 2.6 times the Canadian price, is a significant factor.
Another issue is the terms of exclusivity offered to drug developers. When the Patent Act was established in 1987, Stone said, patent terms were also extended to 20 years.
She also asserted that Canadian taxpayers actually pay twice for patented medicines. The Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) invests $1 billion of taxpayer money yearly to health research. “When this research is patented and sold to the private sector, taxpayers’ money is privatized, and pharmaceutical companies reap the profits on the final product once it reaches the market,” Stone said.
The key to lowering the high prices of patented drugs, she said, is for the government to institute a policy promoting “public research in the public interest.” Citing a proposal by the Universities Allied for Essential Medicines (UAEM), a student-driven organization, Stone said CIHI funding should be made conditional on equitable, needs-driven, and transparent licensing.
“[F]unding would be given to research institutions willing to openly license their research findings, meaning that anyone in the scientific community would have access to it,” she explained. “This would speed up innovation, foster a collaborative and transparent scientific community, and make medicines available at lower prices to consumers once they reach the market.”
UAEM is pushing for this policy through its Take Back Our Medicines campaign, which aims to increase awareness of equitable, needs-driven and transparent licensing. Stone said the University of British Columbia has already committed to global access licensing, which seeks equitable access to the products of biomedical research at universities. Other Canadian universities have also adopted alternative R&D initiatives to work toward similar goals.
“Canada needs to step up and take a leadership position in creating a new biomedical R&D system that allows everyone to afford access to life-saving medicines, both at home and abroad,” she said.
Related stories:
Advocates call for national pharma-payment registry
Head of BC women's clinic calls for provincial abortion-pill coverage
