Agenda
Flip through our conference brochure and discover what’s new this year.
Download Brochure
Day 1
January 30, 2025
Registration and Continental Breakfast Served
10 Year Anniversary Panel
Reflecting on 10 Years in Canada’s Pharmaceutical Landscape: A Progress Report on Promoting Innovation and Improving Patient Access
Bettina HamelinPresidentInnovative Medicines Canada (IMC)
Jason FieldPresident & CEOLife Sciences Ontario
Ed DybkaGeneral ManagerIpsen Canada
Mark OmotoGeneral ManagerIQVIA
This special power panel of key stakeholders from across Canada’s pharmaceutical and health care sector will provide reflections and perspectives on the polices and initiatives that have shaped the innovation ecosystem and impacted patient access in Canada. Each panelist will highlight significant strides and persistent barriers to timely access and reimbursement before turning their attention to what’s ahead, with a federal election looming. Key themes to be explore include:
- Innovation vs. system sustainability
- Addressing unmet patient needs through expedited pathways to access
- Assessing progress on pharmacare and anticipating the impact of political shifts
From CADTH to Canada Drug Agency: How the Transformation will Expand the Scope of Work and Support Next Steps on the Pharmacare File
Sudha KuttyExecutive Vice-President, Evidence, Products, and ServicesCanada Drug Agency
CADTH has officially become the Canada Drug Agency. In January 2024, the Government of Canada announced the change. CADTH’s role and expertise in HTA and post-market drug evaluations will continue under a new name and with an expanded mandate. In addition to evidence evaluations in the pharmaceutical sector, the CDA is tasked with advancing other key initiatives, including pharmacare.
- Identifying how the CDA’s scope of work differs and builds off CADTH’s principles, expertise, and mandate
- Assessing opportunities to reduce drug system duplication leading to costly inefficiencies
- Increasing and improving pan-Canadian data collection, including RWD for future decision making
- Introducing a phased approach to pharmacare in Canada for improved accessibility and affordability of drugs
- Analyzing the impact of the rolling review pilot process on the time it takes for a patient to access a new drug
Morning Coffee & Networking Break Sponsored by 
Examining Canada’s First Time-Limited Recommendation: Key Takeaways from the Process in Practice for Your Market Access Strategy
Sudha KuttyExecutive Vice-President, Evidence, Products, and ServicesCanada Drug Agency
Canada’s Drug Agency has granted the first-ever time-limited reimbursement recommendation to AbbVie for an injectable lymphoma treatment. The TLR pathway was created by the CDA in collaboration with the pCPA to address unmet patient needs, faster. A temporary recommendation is given based on Phase II clinical data while more evidence is collected for future evaluation.
- Navigating the TLR and pTAP process
- Outlining the types of drugs eligible for the TLR
- Identifying potential opportunities to expedite access to drugs in your pipeline with insights on the TLR process in practice
- Exploring regulatory and manufacturer perspectives on what worked well and future considerations for the process
- Anticipating future expansion of the recommendation category
- Examining how RWE will be used to support decision-making as part of this pathway
Barriers to Access in the Biosimilars Market: How to Navigate the Maze of Public and Private Payer Policies in Canada
Rosemarie ChilderhoseHead of Market Access & PricingBiocon Biologics
- Analyzing the policies in Europe that improved biosimilars uptake
- Assessing trends in private payers’ policies on biosimilars
- Navigating the different provincial switch policies
Lunch Break
Implementing the National Strategy for Drugs for Rare Disease
Durhane Wong-RiegerPresident & CEOCORD
Farah JivrajHead of Market Access, Policy and Stakeholder RelationsBiogen
In March 2023, the Government of Canada announced up to $1.5 billion in funding over three years to support the National Strategy for Drugs for Rare Disease. The hope is that this will help lower drug costs and improve patient access. Part of the investment will go to the provinces through bilateral agreements, with the first made with British Columbia.
- Detailing how drugs are being evaluated and ultimately selected for the common list
- Analyzing how bilateral agreements between the Government of Canada and the provinces will improve access and reduce funding challenges for DRD
- Assessing the role of manufacturers and key stakeholders in RWE collection as part of this process
Afternoon Networking and Refreshment Break Sponsored by
Case Study and Breakout Discussion
Farah MeghjiCo-FounderUnum Co.
Gillian BromfieldNational Policy Lead, Broadening ValueRoche Canada
Day 2
January 31, 2025
Registration Opens and Continental Breakfast Served
The Value Based Drug Pricing Showcase in Quebec: A Collaborative Data Project to Expedite Drug Access in Canada
Alex ChambersSenior Market Access ManagerBayer
Julie FrappierPresident & FounderTOWWERS Program, Data4Actions
Ursula MannPrincipal and Chief Patient Officer (CPO)PatientVoicePartners
Tara CowlingPresidentMedlior
Creating equitable access to innovative new medicines is critical. Breakthrough treatments can be life-changing, and even lifesaving for patients, but without sufficient data and the necessary infrastructure, it can be difficult for payers to make reimbursement decisions.
To tackle this challenge, a multi-stakeholder group has come together to advance the implementation of value-based pricing in Canada through a series of demonstration projects. The initiative, led by patients, physicians, payers, policymakers, and manufacturers, will collect data and evaluate the value of a drug at both the patient and health system levels.
This session will provide insights on the project and future deliverables aimed at supporting drug decisions.
Guillaume CouillardExecutive DirectorPMPRB
PMPRB recently invited stakeholders to comment on a discussion guide outlining the proposed framework for drug price reviews that will make up the new guidelines.
- Overview of the proposed framework, including international price comparison (IPC) options:
- Median International Price (MIP)
- Highest International Price (HIP)
- The midpoint between MIP and HIP
- Demonstrating how different pricing options will be applied in reviews using case study examples
- Anticipating the impact of different pricing options on innovator drug companies and patient access
- Assessing how grandfathered patented medicines will be impacted under the new framework
Morning Coffee & Networking Break Sponsored by
SPECIAL FOCUS ON QUEBEC
QUEBEC CASE STUDY
Dara JospéPartnerFasken
What happens when you are not successful in negotiating an LOI with the pCPA? Can individual jurisdictions negotiate independently? And what happens when they refuse to do so? A judicial review is currently being brought in Quebec to explore these issues. This session will detail that judicial review and the pseudo-administrative framework which led to the court action.
Lunch Break
Michael Nashat, PharmD, RPhDirectorOnPharm-United
Suzanne LepagePrivate Health Plan StrategistSuzanne Lepage Consulting
Ontario’s Ministry of Finance is consulting on the role of preferred pharmacy networks (PPN) in Ontario’s employer-sponsored drug insurance industry following pushback from patient groups and industry associations.
For the insurance companies entering into these contractual agreements that allow only specific pharmacies to provide services to members, the argument is that it will lower costs. However, there are concerns that PPNs disrupt care and jeopardize patient access.
This session will focus on:
- Defining the role of preferred pharmacy networks
- Understanding the different network designs
- Weighing the pros and cons of PPNs
- Assessing the impact on patient access and the overall health system
- Addressing concerns that PPNs are anticompetitive
- Examining current regulations for PPNs in Ontario and the rest of Canada
- Anticipating how the regulatory environment could evolve due to Ontario’s consultation process
Saad AhmedLecturer, Department of Family & Community MedicineUniversity of TorontoMedical Director, Homelessness, Supported Housing, Complex Care, Vancouver Coastal Health
Mina TadrousAssistant Professor
Leslie Dan Faculty of PharmacyUniversity of Toronto
Since the pandemic, disruptions to the pharmaceutical supply chain have been exacerbated. A multi-stakeholder group in Canada is working diligently to mitigate the impact on patients. Significant strides toward monitoring and managing drug supply have been made with the creation of a tracking system for critical drugs. These are the shortages or discontinuation events expected to have the highest impact on Canada’s drug supply and overall health system.
- Examining the newly established national drug shortage list and how it will be used to communicate and act on potential shortages in the future
- Assessing current supply chain challenges impacting drug supply in Canada
- Identifying how stakeholders across the pharmaceutical supply chain and the healthcare system can assist with the prevention and mitigation of drug shortages
- Exploring how artificial intelligence can assist with real-time monitoring
Afternoon Break
Gail AttaraPresidentGastrointestinal Society
A report developed by the Gastrointestinal Society reveals inequities in drug access across Canada. According to the analysis, British Columbia is not keeping up with other provinces’ drug budgets and has denied coverage of critical medications approved by other provinces. This session will take a deep dive into gaps in spending and the patient impact.
Philippe Laplante, FICA,FSAPrincipalEckler
- Understanding how drug insurance pooling is used in Canada to manage and offset the impact of high-cost drug claims
- Understanding the finer actuarial considerations for measuring risk
- Identifying the provincial differences in the implementation of pooling
- Assessing the ability of pooling to manage multiple or recurring high-cost drug claims
- Understanding plan sponsor perspectives on pooling
- Forecasting the future of pooling frameworks