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CGPA Statement Regarding Bill C-393, proposed changes to Canada’s Access to Medicines Regime

Toronto, March 3, 2011 – The following is a statement by Jim Keon, President of the Canadian Generic Pharmaceutical Association (CGPA), regarding Bill C-393, which seeks to make changes to Canada’s Access to Medicines Regime (CAMR):

“Canada’s Access to Medicines Regime aims to provide domestically produced generic versions of patented drugs for international humanitarian purposes, but it is unfortunately severely flawed. Canadian generic drug maker Apotex used the regime to develop and ship a triple combination HIV/AIDS drug to Rwanda, but had to overcome lengthy and costly obstacles due to the cumbersome regime. The company is unlikely to use CAMR again unless significant improvements are made.

While Canada’s generic pharmaceutical industry supports reasonable intellectual property rights and compliance with our international trade obligations, it must be noted that the landmark WTO Decision leading to the creation of CAMR outlines only four basic requirements that need to be met for an exporting country to grant a compulsory license to a generic manufacturer.

A central problem with Canada’s Access to Medicines Regime is that it creates barriers not required by the WTO Decision. These measures were demanded by the brand-name industry, and will ultimately ensure that the humanitarian intent of the regime is not met. They include the requirement for a generic manufacturer to seek a voluntary license from patentees, which provides brand-name companies with an opportunity to cause significant delays in the process, and the many unnecessary limits placed on a compulsory license.

The WTO Decision and CAMR were created in acknowledgement of the significant and critical pharmaceutical needs in developing and least developed countries that were not being met by the brand-name pharmaceutical industry. These companies were unwilling to lower their drug prices to levels that could be afforded by these countries, and were not developing products that were required to meet the unique disease needs of these countries.

Bill C-393 as originally drafted would have corrected many of the fundamental flaws in Canada’s Access to Medicines Regime (CAMR). Unfortunately, key provisions aimed at making improvements to the regime were removed at Committee in late October.

A series of NDP motions have been tabled for debate at Report Stage in the House of Commons that seek to reinstate the original intent of the Bill. The debate on these motions will take place in parliament today. The question now is whether all federal parties have the political will to support improvements to the regime despite the considerable resources being invested by the brand-name pharmaceutical industry to oppose changes and spread misleading and inaccurate information about Apotex’s experience with the regime.”

About the Canadian Generic Pharmaceutical Association
The Canadian Generic Pharmaceutical Association (CGPA) represents Canada’s generic drug industry. The industry plays an important role in controlling health-care costs in Canada. Generic drugs are dispensed to fill 57 per cent of all prescriptions but account for only 25 per cent of the $23-billion Canadians spend annually on prescription medicines.

For more information, please contact:

Jeff Connell
Vice President, Corporate Affairs
Canadian Generic Pharmaceutical Association (CGPA)
Tel: (416) 223-2333
Cell: (647) 274-3379
Email: jeff@canadiangenerics.ca

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	CGPA Statement Regarding Bill C-393, proposed changes to Canada’s Access to Medicines Regime
	CGPA Statement Regarding Bill C-393, proposed changes to Canada’s Access to Medicines Regime