On October 21, 2025, the Patented Medicine Prices Review Board (PMPRB) announced the release of CompassRx (10th edition), an annual report that analyzes factors driving prescription drug expenditures in Canadian public drug plans. The 10th edition includes the 2022/23 fiscal year.
The report uses data from the National Prescription Drug Utilization Information System (NPDUIS) database, which includes data from public drug plans in all provinces (except Quebec) and Yukon.
The report covers trends in prescription drug expenditures from 2017/18 to 2022/23, drivers of drug costs from 2021/22 to 2022/23 and drivers of dispensing costs from 2021/22 to 2022/23.
A summary of key findings includes:
- Prescription drug expenditures, measured as the total of drug costs and dispensing costs, increased by $3.4 billion from 2017/18 to 2022/23.
- In 2022/23, prescription drug expenditures were over $14.1 billion, representing a 7.4% increase over the 2021/22 fiscal year.
- Drug costs rose by 7.9% from 2021/22 to 2022/23. This growth was driven by increased use of higher-cost drugs (drugs costing more than $10,000 annually) along with a post-pandemic recovery in active beneficiaries.
- Higher-cost drugs accounted for over 37% of total drug costs in 2022/23.
- Fees for dispensing prescriptions rose by 4.5% in 2022/23. The largest contributor to this growth was the post-pandemic recovery in active beneficiary numbers.
Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact a member of the Life Sciences Regulatory & Compliance Group.
The preceding is intended as a timely update on Canadian intellectual property and life sciences regulatory law. The content is informational only and does not constitute legal or professional advice. To obtain such advice, please communicate with our offices directly.