The mental-health repercussions of the coronavirus could see global sales of psychiatric drugs increase to more than US$40 billion by 2025, according to data and analytics company GlobalData. Global sales for drugs to treat mental-health disorders such as depression, anxiety and obsessive compulsive disorder are expected to reach US$27.4 billion in 2020, an increase of US$717 […]
On March 3, the 2020 Employers Cancer Care Summit featured sessions on cancer-related issues and opportunities tied to benefits plans and the workplace. Many perspectives required when covering cancer drugs on benefits plans While treatment options for cancer are more than they used to be, many still aren’t covered under the public health-care system, according to Tim […]
Taking a look at private drug plans in 2020, a number of trends are converging: spending on specialty drugs is continuing its upward trajectory, advancements in a number of lifechanging therapies are in the pipeline and policy developments are coming at both the federal and provincial levels. In the face of this potential storm, plan […]
The Canadian Life and Health Insurance Association is asking the Patented Medicine Prices Review Board to include workplace-related factors when it sets maximum prices for medications. In its submission for the PMPRB’s consultation on its draft guidelines, which were released in November, the CLHIA said the life and health insurance industry is very supportive of the […]
The vast majority of pharmaceutical executives said they expect the incoming amendments to the Patented Medicine Prices Review Board to have a negative impact on their business plans in Canada, according to a new survey commissioned by Life Sciences Ontario. The survey, which drew on data from 46 respondents, including leaders from 36 Canadian and […]
While 2.7 million Canadians suffer from migraine, the condition can be subdivided based on its frequency, said Dr. Esma Dilli, neurologist and clinical assistant professor at the University of British Columbia, during Benefits Canada’s 2019 Vancouver Mental Health Summit on Dec. 12. Episodic migraine is defined by less than 15 headache days a month, whereas […]
Employers should be closely examining the underlying drivers of cost growth in their drug plans, according to a new report by Innovative Medicines Canada. “Typically, [plan sponsors] get their report at the end of the year, they’ll see a cost for their drug plan and they don’t know what’s driving it,” says Joe Farago, the […]
On Dec. 3, the 2019 Face to Face Drug Plan Management Forum featured sessions on rare disease, the pharmaceutical industry’s point of view, legal obligations in drug plan management and a deeper dive into drug programs. Capping coverage for plan members with rare diseases poses an ethical dilemma While high-cost specialty medications represent about 30 […]
While high-cost specialty medications represent about 30 per cent of drug costs, the total budget impact of rare disease drugs is less than two per cent, said Brad McCaw, associate director of market access at Alexion Pharmaceuticals Canada. Within the high-cost specialty market’s top 20 drugs, only one is designated for rare disease, he said […]
Pharmaceutical companies and private payers can interact in different ways to ensure the right drugs are getting to the right patients, according to Kathy Sotirakos, senior manager of market access and private insurance at Amgen. Real world evidence will help inform better decision-making from a predictability and outcomes perspective, she said during a panel at […]