While the case around the public funding of Kalydeco might be considered unique because of its astronomical cost, the fact that  Canadians end up paying more for prescription drugs than other countries is apparently not unusual at all, as was  pointed out  in the April 2013 issue of Health Affairs by researcher Steve Morgan, a health policy expert at the University of British Columbia.  He claims that Canada is missing out on brokering deals with pharmaceutical companies the same way fellow nations are. Morgan interviewed policymakers from nine countries similar to Canada, including Australia, Austria, Germany, Italy, the US and the UK.

The PCPA was announced in September 2010 by the provinces and territories as a means to purchase the most expensive brand-name drugs, but as reported in the Canadian Pharmacists Journal of September 2012, only 2 products have been purchased that way. And so it appears that the provinces and territories continue to “strike up their own individual deals with drug companies, missing opportunities to garner better prices if Canada negotiated rebates while buying as a whole country.” This according to Morgan, as quoted by Carmen Chai  with  Global News back in April of 2013:  “The pricing of medicines is now a game of negotiation, similar to buying a car at a dealership. There is a list price equivalent to a manufacturer’s suggested retail price and then there are  secret deals that everyone negotiates from there,” Morgan said. He told Global News that Canadians pay the second highest costs for brand name drugs in the world, second only to the United States. He said the large countries with multilevel health care systems lose out on drug pricing. New Zealand, for example, is a much smaller nation but it leverages its universal drug plan to lower its prices.

Canada pays about 20 per cent more for brand name drugs. Meanwhile, countries that negotiate the supply of generic drugs pay 90 per cent less than we do, Morgan said.
Tylenol or Advil, for example, would be about a fifth more expensive in Canada, while their generic counterparts, acetaminophen and ibuprofen, would be marked up by 90 per cent compared to other countries’ prices.

This shortfall in our bargaining power ends up on consumers’ shoulders, said Morgan.
“Current differences in price mean that Canadians are spending literally billions of dollars more than they should on prescription drugs. If we do not learn to negotiate rebates as well as comparators around the world, we will continue to pay billions of dollars more per year than we ought to,” Morgan told Global News. Pockets of our population, such as seniors, the poor or the very ill, end up paying the most out of pocket expenses for their drugs.

Across the board, Canadians and Americans paid for the most for their drugs. Deals struck between countries and drug companies are confidential though, so they don’t set precedents for other countries to follow.

Link to complete Global News article:  http://globalnews.ca/news/473107/canada-losing-out-negotiating-lower-drug-prices-study-says/

BEETON –  Nov 28, 2013 – For her 12th birthday party this weekend, gifts are the last thing on Madi Vanstone’s mind. The Beeton girl has decided to use the day to help out the Barrie Out of the Cold program as a way to say thanks for all the support that’s allowed her to live a better life. Madi’s mom Beth Vanstone said her daughter’s cystic fibrosis symptoms have nearly disappeared since she started a new type of medication in August called Kalydeco.

“She’s doing phenomenal, after 30 days on the medication she tested negative for cystic fibrosis because it opened the channel in her body that creates all these issues,” she said.
Beth said she has a lot more energy now and is performing much better at school. She also no longer suffers from daily headaches and stomachaches.

“It’s not even a question if will it work, it’s changing her whole life,” she said. There would have been no way for her family to afford the expensive drugs without the support they’ve received from the community in recent months. Since the summer there have been several fundraisers to help the family purchase the medication not currently funded by the province. The most recent fundraiser was held this past weekend at the Club at Bond Head, bringing in $21,000 for the Vanstone family.

“We’ve got about six or seven months worth of medication saved in the bank for her,” Beth said. Now that her daughter is in a position to give back, she decided to use her party to help others in need by collecting food donations in place of presents. Madi and her friends will also bake up a batch of Christmas cookies for the shelter to help spread more holiday cheer.

“Madi has been a recipient of a lot of love from our community, so she wanted to give back and thought that might be place that doesn’t get a lot of attention,” Beth said.
While Madi is making great progress, not much has advanced on the political front to get the treatment funded. “We’re still working really hard to get the government to take responsibility for this,” she said. Beth plans to a join a group heading to Queen’s Park next month to ask support from the health minister. The group will include Milton resident Kimm Fletcher, who made the news last month after the province refused to fund brain cancer medication that could potentially extend her life.

Beth is also planning to make a deputation to gain New Tecumseth council’s support to ask the province to fund Kalydeco.