Recently announced pharmacy reform in Ontario is a major step in redressing artificially high generic drug prices in Canada. Reforming Ontario's drug system will save Canadian consumers, employers and taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars by eliminating kickbacks and rebates that have served to inflate the prices that consumers pay for generic drugs in Canada.

A majority of Canadians (73.1%) agree that the Government should strongly enforce intellectual property rights in relation to the development of new medicines. [1]

According to a recent survey [1], a majority of Canadians (77 per cent) recognize that innovation – in the medical field as well as other sectors – is essential to the future prosperity of the country. Canadians view encouraging new discoveries and innovations as a more important factor in economic prosperity than cutting business taxes or reducing red tape.

According to a recent report from the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) [1], which examined 2.4 million recorded hospital stays (outside of Quebec), an average patient stay in Canada costs almost $7,000. The study focused on the cost of treating those patients admitted to hospital for at least one night and does not include the cost of emergency care, day surgery, long-term care, hospital clinics or fee-for-service payments to physicians.

The study also concluded that underlying chronic conditions or their complications account for almost 30% of money spent on inpatient care in Canadian acute care hospitals. Some examples of underlying chronic conditions include diabetes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder and pneumonia.