Spending on antidiabetic drugs in Canada outpaced overall drug market 

From: Patented Medicine Prices Review Board Canada

News release

May 30, 2023 — Ottawa, ON — Patented Medicine Prices Review Board

The Patented Medicine Prices Review Board (PMPRB), through the National Prescription Drug Utilization Information System (NPDUIS) research initiative, today published the latest edition of the Market Intelligence Report: Antidiabetic Drugs, 2012-2021, which examines the market for drugs used in the treatment of diabetes.

This fourth report in the Market Intelligence series analyzes the market for drugs used in the treatment of diabetes. It is estimated that 5.7 million Canadians have diagnosed and undiagnosed diabetes, and another 6 million Canadians are likely prediabetic. The cost burden of diabetes in Canada is around $29 billion annually.

Quick facts

  • Antidiabetic drug growth outpaced the overall drug market, effectively doubling the market share for these drugs from 4.2% to 7.9% (2012 to 2021). This growth reflects a shift to new classes of drugs for the treatment of diabetes resulting in a similar increase in the cost per capita for antidiabetic drugs.

  • New-generation treatments were the main driver of growth. In 2021, 71% of antidiabetic drug sales in Canada were for the new-generation/non-insulin subclasses. These drugs were responsible for almost all of Canada’s increase in cost per capita of antidiabetic drugs since 2012.

  • Canada has higher prices for top-selling antidiabetic drugs compared to prices in the PMPRB11 comparator countries, which were roughly half to two-thirds of Canadian prices in 2021. It is estimated that these higher prices could represent additional spending of up to $703M in Canada.

  • Biosimilar policies led to more switching: A case study of insulin glargine (Lantus) showed a near-total switch to biosimilars in public plans in both British Columbia (by 2020) and Alberta (by 2021) following the implementation of a biosimilar switching policy for all patients. Quebec and Atlantic provinces also saw a significant, albeit smaller, shift to biosimilars by 2021 following switching policies targeting new patients.

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Contacts

PMPRB Media Relations
PMPRB.MediaCentre-CentreMedias.CEPMB@pmprb-cepmb.gc.ca
Follow us on Twitter: @PMPRB_CEPMB

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