PHP86 - Impact Of The Pan Canadian Pricing Alliance On Time To Listing In Canada

Abstract

In addition to Canadian Drug Review (CDR), an independent, province-driven mechanism is now in place known as Pan Canadian Pricing Alliance (pCPA). The purpose of this virtual committee is to conduct joint provincial / territorial negotiations for brand name drug products when appropriate. Since this initiative was announced by Premiers in August 2010, the implication of this initiative has yet to be measured. This paper quantifies the impact of pCPA by comparing the ‘days to listing’ and longitudinally assessing data between 2008 and 2013. Using publically accessible CDR data, IMS Brogan applied selection criteria to identify drugs for analysis including: Tracked all drugs post CDR recommendation (made through 2008 – 2012) for a duration of 18 months, and the Used Ontario Public Drug Plan (OPDP), except Quebec, the leading province of listing new products in the Formulary, as a representative to measure time from CDR recommendation to formulary listing. Selection criteria were rigorous to ensure credible results; the resulting sample size was n=103. If a drug was reviewed for multiple indications, it was given an additional weight based of the number of indications. Findings revealed that, although pCPA is an added layer to the public listing in the Canadian health care system, time to listing has continued to decrease. The average time to listing for drugs reviewed in 2012 was185 days, a 33% decrease compared to 2008. Further analysis assessed median and minimum days to listing, which further supported this trend. The recent trends show time to listing of new products on the OPDP Formulary has been decreasing; pCPA does not delay the listing process. Future trends could not be ascertained due to data horizon length.