by Junyi Chen
The National Prescription Drug Utilization Information System (NPDUIS) is a partnership between the Patented Medicine Prices Review Board and the Canadian Institutes for Health Information that aims to provide analyses of drug price, utilization and cost trends in Canada to support drug plan policy decision-making for participating levels of government. On August 28, 2013, the NPDUIS released a new analytical report entitled Analytical Snapshot: International Generic Price Comparison, Early 2011. The Report captures some of the changes in Canadian generic pricing that occurred between 2008 and the first quarter of 2011. The NPDUIS’s last publication on generic price comparison was released in September 2011: Generic Drugs in Canada: International Price Comparisons and Potential Cost Savings (reported in the November 2011 issue of Rx IP Update).
The Report notes that since 2010, most provincial governments have implemented generic pricing policies that have had a significant impact on generic prices in Canada. While it does not reflect the full impact of the policy changes, the Report suggests the following early trends:
1. Between 2008 and early 2011 (first quarter 2011), Canadian prices for many generic drugs decreased by up to 30%, widening the gap between generic and brand name prices (as reported in IMS Health´s MIDAS database).
2. Over the same period, generic prices in many comparator countries decreased between 1.9% and 21.5%, on average, depending on the country.
3. In early 2011, the mean foreign prices were 0.65 of corresponding Canadian prices. In other words, international generic price levels were 35% lower than in Canada. These levels are similar to those reported for 2007 and 2008.
4. By 2010, the Ontario government reduced generic prices to a maximum of 25% of the reference brand price for most drugs. A supplementary assessment using Ontario formulary prices for 50 of the top-selling generic drugs in Canada is provided in this analysis. The mean foreign prices were 21% lower than Ontario formulary prices, which were some of the lowest in Canada.
According to the Report, further work is planned in 2014/15 for a more comprehensive assessment of Canadian generic prices compared to international levels.