[You can see Russell's slide presentation here.]
Meeting Summary by Marla Weingarten
“Today is an historic day,” Russell Williams announced in his opening remarks to OPMA members and guests. He was actually referring to Andre Picard’s timely article in the Globe and Mail, Bloggers, there’s no Big Pharma conspiracy. Exclaimed Williams, “We are making progress!”
Russell Williams, President Rx&D
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Williams strongly believes the biopharmaceutical industry is an integral player in the healthcare system. Approximately $1 billion or 32% of all health research spending in Canada is funded by our industry. Half of these investments are in Ontario and half in Quebec. In addition, this industry contributes over $5 billion to Canada’s economy every year.
Despite the current economic climate and uncertainty in the financial world, Williams is quite optimistic about the future, and made specific mention of “our growing partnerships with government”, which continue to move our industry forward. According to Williams, “the biopharmaceutical industry has never been more closely aligned with public policy than we are today”. It is important that both industry and government understand each other’s strengths and constraints to find creative solutions to advance the healthcare system.
On a global front, it is not likely our industry will be spared from cost-cutting measures; it is inevitable that we will also experience consolidations and layoffs.
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Unrelated to the downturn in the economy, Williams also identified further global and domestic matters that will affect the biopharmaceutical industry:
1. Patent termination
As early as 2010, we will start to see billions of dollars lost in revenue. As well, with a changing pipeline the cost to discover new medicines will increase, while the likelihood of finding a blockbuster will diminish. There is, however, an opportunity in this environment to work with government to modify policies and encourage the development of innovative products that focus on personalized healthcare.
2. Cross-border trade
The US administration is currently exploring the legalization of importing innovative products from Canada. If cross-border trade is opened up, it will be crucial for our industry to deal with potential supply issues for Canadians.
3. Research & development dollars
Of the $100 billion spent worldwide on R&D, only $1 billion has been allotted to Canada. With respect to global trade and investment, Canada is not keeping pace with other nations and, in fact, our country has been losing research dollars to emerging markets such as China and India.
A key reason for this R&D drain is the Canadian process of multiple review boards. Given the succession of boards required for approval, decisions are being made at a global level to conduct trials elsewhere. On a positive note, Canada’s scientists are highly regarded, and we have the necessary infrastructure to fulfil study requirements. As well, Rx&D is working with federal and provincial governments to develop a new mandate to help bring research dollars back to Canada.
Rx&D is also focusing on other existing policies and is collaborating with federal officials to strengthen the following healthcare initiatives:
1. Access to new medicines
Williams questions how Canada can have one policy to encourage the discovery of innovative products and yet another policy that discourages access to these new innovations. Williams explained how the concept of Canada’s Common Drug Review appeared in theory as a valuable approach to save time and money. However, in reality, every payer - most notably the provinces - still want autonomy in the decision-making process around price, since the money is coming from their own pockets. As a result, the CDR didn’t eliminate other levels of bureaucracy; it only created a bottleneck, slowing the process down even
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2. The Patented Medicine Prices Review Board
The PMPRB, implemented 20 years ago to protect Canadians against possible price gouging, has been quite a success. In fact, Williams notes that Canadian prices for innovative medicines are lower than those in most other countries. More recently, Williams acknowledges, “the PMPRB has implemented additional bureaucratic steps that are now creating an administrative burden to our industry”.
In order to work in collaboration with the government, Williams maintains, “they have to be sure that our ethical practices meet the test of public scrutiny.” The Rx&D Code of Ethics is a fundamental component to these partnerships, as it confirms our transparency and integrity as an industry. The code is now over 20 years old, and Rx&D continues to modify and improve its content to ensure it upholds the highest standards.
Investment in health research is fundamental to both the growth of the biopharmaceutical industry and to the advancement of the healthcare system. We cannot do this alone. Only through collaboration with government will we be able to understand their constraints and then together find creative solutions to the challenges facing our industry.
About the writer: M. Weingarten Consulting specializes in healthcare marketing. Marla Weingarten brings 15 years of Sales and Marketing experience to skillfully manage projects in strategic and tactical planning, speaker program and advisory board development, as well as promotional material creation. She can be reached at 416-854-8881 or marla.weingarten@sympatico.ca
Related links
1. “Bloggers, there’s no Big Pharma conspiracy” Globe and Mail, March 5, 2009.
2. Canada’s Research-Based Pharmaceutical Companies (Rx&D)
