Amendments have been proposed to the Food and Drug Regulations that relate to the sale of drugs that have not been approved in Canada for emergency treatment. These amendments update the Special Access Program (SAP) and create a
2019
CUSMA Implementation Bill Introduced
On May 29, 2019, the federal government introduced Bill C‑100 to implement the new trilateral trade deal known as the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA, also referred to as USMCA), making Canada the first of the three member countries…
Quebec Court of Appeal confirms CPA does not apply to the sale of prescription drugs

In a May 8 decision, the Quebec Court of Appeal confirmed that the Quebec Consumer Protection Act (CPA) does not apply to the sale of prescription drugs. The decision, Brousseau v Laboratoires Abbott limitée, 2019 QCCA 801 provides critical…
Federal Court of Appeal affirms cancellation of reconsideration of ANDS for Apo-omeprazole

The Federal Court of Appeal has dismissed an appeal by Apotex Inc. (Apotex) in its unsuccessful application for judicial review of a decision by the Minister of Health (the Minister) to cancel the reconsideration of approval for…
Proposed amendments to Food and Drugs Act introduced in omnibus budget bill

The federal government has proposed changes to the Food and Drugs Act (FDA) that would allow the Minister of Health (Minister) to classify products as foods, drugs, cosmetics, devices, or “advanced therapeutic products”; require authorizations to…
Regulatory changes for generics proposed to clarify ANDS pathway eligibility

On March 30, 2019, the government published proposed amendments to the Food and Drug Regulations (FDR) intended to clarify whether a generic version of a drug can be approved using the abbreviated new drug submission (ANDS)…
Federal Court grants application under the old PM(NOC) Regulations for a prohibition order regarding a metformin formulation
On March 8, 2019, the Federal Court issued a prohibition order against a generic version of GLUMETZA® (metformin hydrochloride extended-release tablets) proposed by Generic Partners Canada Inc. (Generic Partners) in an application under the pre-CETA Patented Medicines…
Health Canada publishes new amendments to the Food and Drug Regulations and Medical Devices Regulations allowing for public release of clinical information in regulatory submissions
On March 20, 2019, new amendments to both the Food and Drug Regulations (the Regulations) and the Medical Devices Regulations regarding the disclosure of clinical data were published in the Canada Gazette. These changes follow from the May…
Budget 2019: Federal government announces intention to implement recommendations on national pharmacare
As we reported the Advisory Council on the Implementation of National Pharmacare recently released an interim report calling for the creation of a national drug agency. Yesterday, the federal government announced funding to implement this recommendation.
Specifically, the government intends…
Competition Bureau publishes Final IP Enforcement Guidelines
On March 13, the Competition Bureau published a revised version of its IP Enforcement Guidelines (IPEGs). The IPEGs clarify the Bureau’s approach to conducting investigations of alleged anti-competitive activities that involve IP, including settlement of pharmaceutical patent litigation…