Canadian Drug Agency Transition Office
From: Health Canada
The Canadian Drug Agency Transition Office (CDATO) is responsible for developing options for a vision, mandate and plan to create a Canadian Drug Agency (CDA).
On this page
About us
The CDATO’s mandate is to develop a vision, mandate and plan to establish a CDA that will improve pharmaceutical system coordination and support related work.
CDATO’s initial activities include:
- Engagement: Consulting provinces, territories and a wide range of stakeholders to ensure we consider many points of view in developing and implementing the CDA
- Data and analytics: Working with partners to determine how the CDA can support public drug plans, as well as helping to standardize and improve access to drug and health data and analysis
- Coordination: Partnering to build a CDA that is well-positioned to adapt and evolve to address the ever-changing pharmaceuticals landscape
- Appropriate use: Collaborating with leaders in the appropriate use field to improve health outcomes and ensure patients are prescribed the safest and most effective treatments for their conditions
The Government of Canada’s Budget 2019 provided $35 million over 4 years, starting in 2019, to establish the CDATO. The December 2021 mandate letter to the Minister of Health and Budget 2022 confirmed this commitment.
CDATO is being established to address the fact that prescription drug prices in Canada are among the highest in the developed world. Canada’s patchwork of drug coverage leaves many people in Canada facing significant barriers to getting the prescription drugs they need.
Budget 2019 also included initiatives to develop a national formulary and a national strategy for drugs for rare diseases.
Who we work with
The CDATO works with many key health system partners and experts to make sure the CDA reflects diverse insights and needs, including the perspectives of those with lived experiences. These include:
- provincial and territorial governments
- pan-Canadian health organizations like:
- Canada Health Infoway
- the Canadian Institute for Health Information
- the Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health
- patients, their families and their advocates
- stakeholders in the health sector and academia
- prescribers, pharmacists and other healthcare professionals
- developers and manufacturers of pharmaceutical products and services
What we’ve learned
Since 2021, we have met with patient advocates, pharmaceutical companies, insurers, prescribers, academics and many others through over 300 meetings and roundtables.
We have received thoughtful advice from provinces, territories, partners and stakeholders on the potential scope and functions of a future CDA. We have heard about pharmaceutical system gaps including:
- fragmentation
- inadequate infrastructure
- poor return on investment
We will continue to collaborate with provinces, territories, partners and stakeholders as we develop the core functions for the CDA. We see opportunities for a CDA to have a significant impact.
Contact us
Canadian Drug Agency Transition Office
Strategic Policy Branch
Health Canada
Brooke Claxton Building
70 Colombine Driveway
Ottawa, ON K1A 0K9
Email: hc.cdato-btacd.sc@hc-sc.gc.ca
Related information
Report a problem or mistake on this page
- Date modified: