Canada’s PMPRB report: “Overall impact of medicines must always be considered”

Canada’s Research-Based Pharmaceutical Companies (Rx&D) trade group has expressed concerns about the Patented Medicines Prices Review Board’s (PMPRB) newly-released report on Cost Drivers of Public Drug Plans in Canada.

Rx&D notes that, according to the report, the rates of change in drug costs have been steadily declining in recent years, reaching a low of -0.8% in 2012/13 for a number of select public drug plans. But Rx&D cautions that any study that examines the costs of medicines without considering their overall impact on the system and how they factor in comparison to other costs could lead to inaccurate perspectives or analyses.

“Medicines value cannot be measured in dollars alone”