When RBC Insurance Services Inc. began offering pharmacogenetic testing to its group benefits plan sponsors and began a clinical study of the issue in relation to biologic drugs recently, it did so with a few things in mind. “There’s a number of issues we’re looking at as we consider how to approach addressing those issues, […]
The number of Ontarians using the Trillium drug program increased threefold between the beginning of 2000 and the end of 2016, according to a new study published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal. Between 2000 and 2015, the number of overall Trillium recipients increased 176,299 from 55,571. During the same time frame, the proportion of plan beneficiaries […]
Green Shield Canada is rolling out a new biosimilar transition program as a pilot project through the first half of 2018, with an aim to extending it to all of its employer clients by the end of the year. The program, which was designed to help plan members transition from an originator drug to a corresponding biosimilar, will initially focus […]
From biosimilars to product listing agreements, a panel of experts tackled some of the hottest topics in drug plan management at the Face to Face Drug Plan Management forum on Dec. 14. Barbara Martinez, who heads up the national drug benefits solutions practice at the Great-West Life Assurance Co., addressed the question of biosimilars during […]
Canadian physicians are becoming more familiar with biosimilars, according to a new survey by the U.S.-based Alliance for Safe Biologic Medicines. The organization’s new survey, which polled more than 400 Canadian prescribers of biologics from 13 therapeutic specialties, found 83 per cent of respondents are either familiar or very familiar with biosimilars, compared to 58 per cent […]
Innovator Biologics and Biosimilars When the patent for an original biologic medicine expires, companies can create copies called biosimilars. As the name suggests, biosimilars are similar, but not identical to their innovator biologic drug. As a result, small differences between medicines are unavoidable and regulators have determined that biosimilars are not “generic biologics” and should […]
Expensive biologics are driving up drug claims costs…but how can employers choose between saving a life and saving the drug plan for everyone?
The Canadian Life and Health Insurance Association (CLHIA) and the Canadian Rheumatology Association (CRA), together with the Ontario Rheumatology Association, have established a national standard for access to biologic drugs for adult rheumatoid arthritis patients who are members of private insurance plans.
Maneuvering through treatment plans can be challenging for plan members who are both managing a chronic health condition and have been prescribed a specialty biologic drug. Accessing and administering the drug and dealing with layers of approvals and coverage can seem confusing and arduous in the beginning.
The number of high-cost prescription drug claims that Canada's private insurers covered for Canadians with fully-insured supplementary health insurance plans doubled in the Canadian Drug Insurance Pooling Corporation's first year of operation.