Canadians waiting over two-and-a-half years for governments to approve new drugs

Canada’s federal and provincial government bureaucracies are taking more than two-and-a-half years on average to approve new prescription drugs, thereby depriving many Canadians of the latest in new medicines, finds a new report from the Fraser Institute, Canada’s leading public policy think-tank.

“On average, it takes Health Canada nearly 16 months to approve new drugs as safe and effective. After that, the provinces typically spend another 15 months or more deciding whether new medicines will be eligible for public reimbursement under provincial drug plans,” said Mark Rovere, Fraser Institute associate director of health policy studies and co-author of a report titled Access Delayed, Access Denied: Waiting for New Medicines in Canada.

Canada’s drug approval process involves two separate stages: First, Health Canada must certify a drug is safe and effective, then provincial governments decide if the drug will be reimbursed under their public drug programs. This combination of federal and provincial decision-making creates delays or, more often, deprives patients of access to new medicines.