For immediate release
Generic Pharmaceutical Industry Supports Health Council of Canada
Findings on Drug Companies’ Influence on Prescribing
Toronto, September 27, 2010 – Canada’s generic pharmaceutical industry supports
recommendations in the report released today by the Health Council of Canada urging
governments to take action to offset the marketing of brand-name drugs to health-care
professionals.
“The key cost driver for public and private drug plans in Canada is the rapid uptake of newer,
expensive, patented medicines which, unfortunately, may not be more effective or safer than
established, proven drugs that are already on the market and available at much lower costs,”
said Jim Keon, President of the Canadian Generic Pharmaceutical Association (CGPA).
The Health Council of Canada report, Decisions, Decisions: Family Doctors as Gatekeepers to
Prescription Drugs and Diagnostic Imaging in Canada, notes that prescribing decisions can be
heavily influenced by drug company representatives who visit physicians with the intent of
influencing their prescribing practices. The report estimates that about 6,000 drug company
representatives visit Canadian doctors on a regular basis to promote their company’s drug
products.
“Decisions regarding which drug should be prescribed to a patient, or if a drug treatment is
appropriate at all, should be made based on what is best for the patient, not on information
provided by the companies selling the drugs,” Keon said. “We must never forget that drug
companies are not in the educations business, they are in the business of selling drugs.”
In Canada, generic drugs are dispensed to fill fully 56 percent of prescriptions yet account for
only 25 percent of the $23-billion Canadians spend annually on prescription drugs. The price of
generic drugs in Canada also includes significant support for the services community
pharmacies provide to patients. Keon said that, despite these facts, governments and payers
have dedicated an inordinate amount of attention to generic drug prices and pharmacy
compensation while virtually ignoring the main cost driver for their drug plans: new, expensive
patented medicines.
“Approximately 75 cents of every dollar spent on prescription drugs in Canada is spent on
brand-name drugs. Clearly, reducing generic drug prices and support for community
pharmacies will not address the primary cost driver for drug benefit plans,” he said.
The CGPA supports the Health Council of Canada’s recommendations that governments
increase the use of programs such as academic detailing in order to provide unbiased
education to physicians about the best evidence on the value of specific medication, and how
these medicines should be prescribed to safely and effectively improve patient outcomes. The
Council’s report also recommends that information be provided to physicians on drug prices,
so that they can make more cost-effective decisions for their patients.
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The latest annual report from the federal government’s Patented Medicine Prices Review
Board (PMPRB) found that the vast majority of new drugs introduced in Canada in 2009,
“provide moderate, little or no therapeutic advantage over comparable medicines.”
About the Canadian Generic Pharmaceutical Association
The Canadian Generic Pharmaceutical Association (CGPA) represents Canada’s generic
pharmaceutical industry. The industry plays an important role in controlling health-care costs in
Canada. Generic drugs are dispensed to fill 56 per cent of all prescriptions but account for only
25 per cent of the $23-billion Canadians spend annually on prescription medicines.
-30For more information, please contact:
Jeff Connell
Director of Public Affairs
Canadian Generic Pharmaceutical Association (CGPA)
Tel: (416) 223-2333
Mobile: (647) 274-3379
Email: jeff@canadiangenerics.ca
Website: www.canadiangenerics.ca
Canadian Generic Pharmaceutical Association
4120 Yonge Street, Suite 409, Toronto, Ontario M2P 2B8 Tel: (416) 223-2333 Fax: (416) 223-2425 www.canadiangenerics.ca