TORONTO - All provinces except Quebec have agreed they will collaborate to review new cancer drugs instead of conducting independent evaluations.
The Joint Oncology Drug Review, announced Thursday, will reduce duplication and help ensure faster, more effective evaluation of cancer drugs, said a statement from the provinces.
The interim initiative will remain in place for one year before participating governments decide whether to formally implement a national program.
"There's been a lot of criticism about checkerboard coverage in Canada for new cancer drugs," said Terry Sullivan, president and CEO of Cancer Care Ontario.
"This is an attempt to say let's put all the information on the table, let's bring the best people. let's bring the highest standards of evidence. And let's bring transparency to the process, including patient participation."
Cancer Care Ontario is an umbrella organization that steers and co-ordinates Ontario's cancer services and prevention efforts.
Beginning March 1, manufacturers of new cancer medications will make one submission asking provinces to cover the cost of the drugs.
The submission, to an Ontario evaluation committee, would be considered a request to all the participating provinces and territories. Final coverage decisions, however, will remain the responsibility of each jurisdiction.
The initiative was launched last year when premiers agreed that the provinces and territories would work together to develop a national plan for oncology drugs.
"The ultimate effect is to make the decision machinery more efficient so we don't have groups of specialists sitting around the table in 13 jurisdictions coming to different decisions," Sullivan said.
Kevin Wilson, executive director of the Saskatchewan Drug Plan, said pharmaceutical companies were being briefed on the new submission process this week in Toronto.
Expenditures on oncology drugs have been rising in the range of 20 to 25 per cent per year in the last few years in most jurisdictions, he said.
"(The joint review) is the first step where you're going to have decisions being made based on a common base of evidence, and a rigorous review that considers both the clinical effectiveness and the cost effectiveness of drugs," he said.
Sullivan said there are still questions about whether there might eventually be unified bargaining on price.
He noted that some of these new cancer drugs can cost in the range of $30,000 to $50,000 to treat one person.
In a statement, Manitoba Health Minister Theresa Oswald said a national approach will streamline the review process.
"Canadians want a system that provides access to cancer drug therapy that is not dependent on where they live," she said.
