Quebec Pharmacists and Physicians Call for Legislative Changes to Combat Drug Shortages in Canada

Abstract

Drug manufacturers in Canada should be legally required to secure several supply sources for raw materials and several manufacturing sites when seeking approval to market an essential drug — according to a joint pharmacy-medical working group in Quebec. The group also calls for legislation that would force pharmaceutical companies to give 1-year's notice before any voluntary production stoppage. The Working Committee on Drug Shortages was created by the Quebec pharmacy college — l'Ordre des pharmaciens du Quebec (OPQ) — and began its work in March 2011. Its mandate was to assess the causes of drug supply disruptions and to propose solutions that could become part of a national strategy. The committee included representatives from the Association quebecoise des pharmaciens proprietaires (AQPP) and the Association des pharmaciens des etablissements de sante du Quebec (APES), as well as from the physicians' college, the College des medecins du Quebec (CMQ). In a report released April 16, 2012, the committee outlined 9 recommendations aimed at securing the supply of pharmaceutical products. “The growing number of shortages, along with their consequences for patients, calls for an overall analysis of the cause and the implementation of concrete solutions for preventing rather than enduring supply disruptions,” OPQ president Diane Lamarre said in a news release. Drug shortages have plagued the Canadian system for at least the past 2 years, but the situation has recently worsened. In February, Sandoz Canada announced it would immediately stop production of certain drugs at its Boucherville, Quebec, plant — due to an order from US regulators to improve quality-control processes. Sandoz is the sole supplier to Canadian hospitals of 90% of all injectable drugs. Mandating a 1-year notice period “is crucial so that we can come up with viable alternative solutions, whether finding new supply sources or identifying substitute medications, for example,” said Charles Fortier, president of the APES.