A new report out of the Fraser Institute says Canadians are waiting significantly longer for new medications to get approved than Americans and Europeans.
The report states that there were 194 drugs approved in both Canada and the United States in the five year period leading up to 2025.
On average, they say drugs were approved 90 weeks earlier in the U.S.
During that same time period, 174 drugs were approved in Canada and Europe, and Europeans received approvals on average 65 weeks earlier.
The report states the main reason for the delays are the dates on which manufacturers submit new drugs to Health Canada for approval.
They argue that lag suggests that companies are “reluctant” to launch new drugs in Canada because of our “smaller market size, weaker intellectual property protections, and the federal government’s strict pricing policies.”