On this page

• About the group
• Co-chairs and members
• Organizations consulted

About the group

The Pediatric External Reference Group was formed in late 2022 and held its first meeting on January 27, 2023. The group's main objectives are to:

• provide expert advice and recommendations on a draft priority list of pediatric drugs to Health Canada
• establish the method for prioritizing the drugs being considered for the draft priority list
• engage with the medical and pharmacist community on the nomination process

The group is co-chaired by Dr. Charlotte Moore Hepburn and Dr. Catherine Litalien. The 12 members of the group are from across Canada and have a range of clinical and pharmaceutical expertise in the pediatric area.

Two organizations with expertise in health technology assessment sit on the group as observers:

• Canada's Drug Agency
• Institut national d'excellence en santé et services sociaux

The group received additional support from the Goodman Pediatric Formulations Centre (GPFC) and the Canadian Paediatric Society (CPS) to develop their recommendations for the priority list:

• GPFC helped the group develop the method for prioritizing pediatric drugs, including the scoring process for nominated drugs. This organization was chosen because of its expertise in child-friendly pediatric formulations in Canada.
• CPS helped to make connections with sub-specialists in pediatric medicines across disciplines to obtain expert clinical opinions about drugs identified through the nomination process. This organization was chosen because of its broad network and clinical expertise.

Co-chairs and members

Co-chairs

• Dr. Charlotte Moore Hepburn
  Paediatric Hospitalist, Division of Paediatric Medicine, and Director, Child Health Policy Accelerator, Hospital for Sick Children
  Associate Professor, Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto
  Special Advisor, Paediatric Drugs and Therapeutics, Canadian Paediatric Society
• Dr. Catherine Litalien
  Paediatric Hospitalist and Division Head, General Paediatrics
  Centre Hospitalier Universitaire (CHU) Sainte-Justine
  Associate Clinical Professor, Université de Montréal
  Medical Director and Co-founder, Goodman Pediatric Formulations Centre

Members

• Dr. Steven Miller
  Professor and Head, Pediatrics, James and Annabel McCreary Chair, University of British Columbia
  Chief, Pediatric Medicine, Hudson Family Hospital Chair, BC Children's Hospital
• Dr. Tamorah Lewis
  Staff Neonatologist and Division Head, Clinical Pharmacology and Toxicology, The Hospital for Sick Children
• Dr. Katharine Smart
  Pediatrician, Lynx Health, Yukon
  former president, Canadian Medical Association
• Denis Lebel
  Head of Pharmacy Department, CHU Sainte-Justine
  Acting Executive Director, Goodman Pediatric Formulations Centre
• Dr. Tom McLaughlin
  Pediatrician and Medical Director, Clinical Teaching Unit, BC Children's Hospital
• Dr. Raphaël Kraus
  Pediatric Rheumatologist, Department of Pediatrics, CHU Sainte-Justine, Université de Montréal
• Dr. Terry Klassen
  CEO and Scientific Director, Children's Hospital Research Institute of Manitoba
• Andrew Veysey
  Pharmacist Team Lead for Drug Information and Drug Use Evaluation, IWK Health Centre
• Brent Fraser
  Vice-President, Pharmaceutical Reviews, Canada's Drug Agency
• Mélanie Caron
  Director, Évaluation des médicaments et des technologies à des fins de remboursement, INESSS

Organizations consulted

• Association of Medical Microbiology and Infectious Disease Canada
• Canadian Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
• Canadian Association of Child Neurology
• Canadian Association of Paediatric Nephrologists
• Canadian Paediatric Endocrine Group
• Canadian Paediatric Society
• Canadian Pediatric Cardiology Association
• Canadian Pediatric Neuromuscular Group
• Canadian Pharmacists Association
• Canadian Rheumatology Association
• Canadian Society of Hospital Pharmacists
• Canadian Society of Pharmacology and Therapeutics
• Children's Healthcare Canada
• Goodman Pediatric Formulations Centre
• Maternal Infant Child and Youth Research Network
• Pediatric Chairs of Canada

We would like to acknowledge the support of all the members of the external reference group and all those who helped develop the draft priority list.