Canada establishes Canadian Drug Agency, signaling major shift in pharmaceutical policy in the country

“[The Canadian Drug Agency] will provide the dedicated leadership and coordination needed to make Canada’s drug system more sustainable and better prepared for the future, helping Canadians achieve better health outcomes.”

The Canadian government has announced the creation of the Canadian Drug Agency (CDA), with the goal of improving the country’s pharmaceutical system and making prescription drugs more affordable. With an investment of $89.5 million over five years, the CDA will be developed in partnership with provinces and territories (PTs) and expand upon the existing Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health (CADTH). The creation of the CDA comes after a consultation process with several stakeholders over the past two years, led by the Canadian Drug Agency Transition Office (CDATO), to understand the challenges within the Canadian drug system relating to pricing, affordability, access and health data.

“There are too many barriers to accessing the prescription drugs Canadians need. At the same time, many Canadians are suffering from being overprescribed medicines that impact both their health and their wallet. The establishment of the Canadian Drug Agency is an important step in supporting the long-term sustainability of Canada’s drug system, improving data quality, and ultimately helping Canadians improve their quality of life and overall health.” explained The Honourable Mark Holland, Minister of Health.

As noted by Susan Fitzpatrick, Head of the CDATO, the aim of the CDA will be to ensures it, “reflects diverse insights and needs, including the perspectives of patients and people with lived experience.” To achieve this goal, the CDA will build on CADTH’s existing role in conducting health technology assessment and post-market safety and effectiveness with several new endeavors including:

• Expanding the nationwide collection real-world data (RWD) and generation of real-world evidence (RWE) to support health decisions and care
• Enhancing the responsible prescription and utilization of medications to improve patient well-being and bolster the sustainability of the healthcare system
• Minimizing redundancy and enhancing coordination within the drug system to alleviate costly inefficiencies and systemic pressures

Speaking exclusively to The Evidence Base, Tara Cowling, President and Managing Principal of Canada-based health outcomes research company Medlior, commented:

Canada has world-class RWD, but it is often siloed, and access can be challenging even for the health system. National-level data collection is essential to expedite and ensure equitable access to drugs for rare disease across Canada. There is also a tremendous opportunity for the new CDA to further leverage RWE by expanding the eligibility criteria for ‘time-limited recommendations’. Canada has a golden opportunity to create a new and accelerated pathway for bringing innovative medicines to patients, while supporting our health system with data-driven decisions.

The creation of the CDA follows several other initiatives by the federal government towards advancing prescription drug access in Canada, such as the Improving Affordable Access to Prescriptions Drugs Program launched in August 2021 and the $1.5 billion-funded National Strategy for Drugs for Rare Diseases announced in March 2023.

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