Right now all eyes should be focused on our MP's in Ottawa. This is a most important period in federal politics as Prime Minister Harper is on a fly and lie mission.
Yes we need to know about the Senate scandal, corruption, incompetence, and possible illegal activities. We need Harper to be grilled on his judgement in character, his continued lies, and the real deal relative to election fraud and his continued "management" of the media.
So Harper hops on a plane and takes off to do a free trade deal with the European Union (CETA) on the first day of the House of Commons. Yes it's another avoidance of accountability and transparency by our PM - but it may be much worse than that.
The CETA framework - en route to becoming a trade deal - may contain one of the worst concessions ever made by a country. Big Pharma or Brand drug companies have lobbied very hard to extend patent rights in Canada and if they have succeeded the cost to Canadians is unbelievable. If the PM has allowed a three year extension on patents - the number of generic drugs scheduled to make their entrance into our pharmaceutical sector will be significantly delayed.
The provinces who have spent the last three years destroying the generic marketplace and seriously harming our local pharmacies to "save" dollars will have all those "savings" eliminated and still be losing more.
I know it is important that our Opposition MP's probe the Senate fiasco and seek accountability - but it must not be used to avoid discussion of this trade deal. The pharmaceutical piece of this agreement is one negative component but there are others including potential issues for fishermen and farmers.
We must NOT let our MP's be silent - they must be more aggressive on CETA than they plan to be on the Senate mess. If not - they are doing all of us a great disservice and more they will contribute to the gouging of Canadians on prescription drugs.
The fact that Harper is attempting to control media yet again and is running away from the Senate scandal and our parliament in par for the course. He is a liar, cheat, and does not believe in accountability.
Right now our MP's need to earn their salaries and benefits by doing the job we elected them to do.
Showing posts with label patented drugs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label patented drugs. Show all posts
Thursday, October 17, 2013
Sunday, November 20, 2011
Talk Newfoundland and Labrador - A show with Purpose for People not Politicians
Please join Shannon Reardon and I tonight on Talk Newfoundland and Labrador. Press HERE
Tonight we talk about pharmacy.
Available during the program is Todd Squires Pharmacist and owner of St. Mary's Pharmacy.
Topics to be covered:
1. What's happening with Pharmacy in Newfoundland and Labrador and Canada.
2. Medication and disease management.
3. CETA
4. Generic versus Brand
5. What is CICPO
6. Collaborative Care
7. Wastage in the Newfoundland and Labrador system.
8. Conflicts in the system.
9. Rural and inner-city pharmacy.
10. Your questions - your concerns - your points.
Press HERE to join the show at 8 pm tonight.
Tonight we talk about pharmacy.
Available during the program is Todd Squires Pharmacist and owner of St. Mary's Pharmacy.
Topics to be covered:
1. What's happening with Pharmacy in Newfoundland and Labrador and Canada.
2. Medication and disease management.
3. CETA
4. Generic versus Brand
5. What is CICPO
6. Collaborative Care
7. Wastage in the Newfoundland and Labrador system.
8. Conflicts in the system.
9. Rural and inner-city pharmacy.
10. Your questions - your concerns - your points.
Press HERE to join the show at 8 pm tonight.
Wednesday, October 05, 2011
So is Jerome Kennedy going to stand up for lower Drug Costs? Will we find out too late?
Please read the excerpts below from a Globe and Mail article today:
Later this month, inside a stylish Ottawa office complex overlooking the Rideau River, a marathon session of trade talks is set to take place between representatives from Canada and the European Union.
While previous negotiations have roused little interest from ordinary Canadians, this round promises to be different. At stake: the future cost of health care. Also at stake: high-end research jobs.
EU negotiators are asking for big changes to Canadian laws that govern intellectual property and patent protection for brand-name prescription drugs. They argue that Canada's legal regime for intellectual property is lax and out- of-step with European norms.
Critics, however, argue the proposals will heave billions of dollars in added costs on public and private drug plans at a time when an aging population is already causing health-care spending to spike.
Some experts warn the issue could make or break the entire trade pact.
"If you are looking at this negotiation, [a trade deal] is something that Canada wants and needs more than the Europeans do," said Peter Clark, a former Canadian trade negotiator who is now president of Grey, Clark, Shih and Associates, Ltd., an Ottawa-based trade consultancy. The Europeans "are going to play their cards as hard as they can and they are doing that in a number of areas and this is one of them."
With that backdrop, EU negotiators are looking for three key changes to Canada's intellectual property regime.
First, they want Canada to provide brand-name pharmaceutical companies with a robust appeals process against
generic manufacturers.
Second, they want Canada to extend how long Big Pharma can protect the data from its clinical drug trials. It is currently eight years in Canada versus 10 years in the EU.
Third, they want Canada to provide "
patent term restoration" - a measure that exists in Europe and the United States and gives big pharmaceutical companies up to five years of extra market exclusivity for their drugs to credit them for time lost when obtaining regulatory approval.
"They are going to need at least two of three, is my guess, for it to be acceptable to the Europeans," said Jason Langrish, executive director of The Canada Europe Roundtable for Business.
Still, achieving that balance is no easy feat. Provinces and territories, which are sending envoys to attend this round of trade talks, are already struggling to contain health care spending. Businesses, meanwhile, are paring benefits to keep their own costs in check.
The Canadian Generic Pharmaceutical Association, for one, estimates the European proposals will add $2.8-billion a year in extra costs to Canadian drug plans - mostly by delaying the sale of
generic drugs by an average of 3.5 years.
In some cases, generic drugs can cost up to 75 per cent less than the corresponding brand-name medication. Mario Deschamps, president and chief operating officer of generic firm Pharmascience, argues that such savings could free up funds to hire more doctors, nurses or enable hospitals to purchase equipment.
Canada's Research-Based Pharmaceutical Companies, the industry organization for brand-name drug companies, argues that patent protection gives companies incentives to fund Canadian-based research and development.
Hugh O'Neill, president and chief executive officer of Sanofi Canada, said Canada's current intellectual property and patent rules make it hard for him to convince head office in France to earmark more funds for Canadian-based research "
It's a constant battle to be able to bring an appropriate level of resources and investment into Canada when the IP regime is at such a disconnect between the European market and the U.S.," he said.
Later this month, inside a stylish Ottawa office complex overlooking the Rideau River, a marathon session of trade talks is set to take place between representatives from Canada and the European Union.
While previous negotiations have roused little interest from ordinary Canadians, this round promises to be different. At stake: the future cost of health care. Also at stake: high-end research jobs.
EU negotiators are asking for big changes to Canadian laws that govern intellectual property and patent protection for brand-name prescription drugs. They argue that Canada's legal regime for intellectual property is lax and out- of-step with European norms.
Critics, however, argue the proposals will heave billions of dollars in added costs on public and private drug plans at a time when an aging population is already causing health-care spending to spike.
Some experts warn the issue could make or break the entire trade pact.
"If you are looking at this negotiation, [a trade deal] is something that Canada wants and needs more than the Europeans do," said Peter Clark, a former Canadian trade negotiator who is now president of Grey, Clark, Shih and Associates, Ltd., an Ottawa-based trade consultancy. The Europeans "are going to play their cards as hard as they can and they are doing that in a number of areas and this is one of them."
With that backdrop, EU negotiators are looking for three key changes to Canada's intellectual property regime.
First, they want Canada to provide brand-name pharmaceutical companies with a robust appeals process against
generic manufacturers.
Second, they want Canada to extend how long Big Pharma can protect the data from its clinical drug trials. It is currently eight years in Canada versus 10 years in the EU.
Third, they want Canada to provide "
patent term restoration" - a measure that exists in Europe and the United States and gives big pharmaceutical companies up to five years of extra market exclusivity for their drugs to credit them for time lost when obtaining regulatory approval.
"They are going to need at least two of three, is my guess, for it to be acceptable to the Europeans," said Jason Langrish, executive director of The Canada Europe Roundtable for Business.
Still, achieving that balance is no easy feat. Provinces and territories, which are sending envoys to attend this round of trade talks, are already struggling to contain health care spending. Businesses, meanwhile, are paring benefits to keep their own costs in check.
The Canadian Generic Pharmaceutical Association, for one, estimates the European proposals will add $2.8-billion a year in extra costs to Canadian drug plans - mostly by delaying the sale of
generic drugs by an average of 3.5 years.
In some cases, generic drugs can cost up to 75 per cent less than the corresponding brand-name medication. Mario Deschamps, president and chief operating officer of generic firm Pharmascience, argues that such savings could free up funds to hire more doctors, nurses or enable hospitals to purchase equipment.
Canada's Research-Based Pharmaceutical Companies, the industry organization for brand-name drug companies, argues that patent protection gives companies incentives to fund Canadian-based research and development.
Hugh O'Neill, president and chief executive officer of Sanofi Canada, said Canada's current intellectual property and patent rules make it hard for him to convince head office in France to earmark more funds for Canadian-based research "
It's a constant battle to be able to bring an appropriate level of resources and investment into Canada when the IP regime is at such a disconnect between the European market and the U.S.," he said.
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