B.C. will be providing patients with better access to the drugs they need thanks to a new agreement with manufacturers of four commonly used generic drugs. PharmaCare estimates this agreement will save the province over $5 million.

“By partnering with other provinces and territories, we are able to increase our negotiation power with manufacturers and get a better price for British Columbians,” said Health Minister Terry Lake. “This in turn allows us to reinvest those savings to cover new therapies and drugs like Sovaldi and Harvoni for Hepatitis C, which we announced just last month.”

As a member of the Pan-Canadian Competitive Value Price Initiative for Generic Drugs, B.C. will be benefitting from an agreement with generic drug manufacturers to bring down the pricing of four commonly used generic drugs across Canada, effective April 1, 2015. The four new drugs under this agreement are:

• Gabapentin: treats seizures and neuropathic pain;
• Olanzapine (generic form of Zyprexa): treats bipolar disorder and schizophrenia;
• Clopidogrel (generic form of Plavix): prevents heart attacks and strokes; and
• Metformin: treats type 2 diabetes.

The active ingredients in these medications are the same chemicals as those found in the brand-name equivalents, and are just as effective as brand name drugs. Most patients will notice no difference in their medication.

Any PharmaCare client who cannot tolerate the generic versions of these drugs can apply for coverage of the brand name drug through PharmaCare’s special authority process.

This announcement continues the direction the government is taking overall when it comes to prescription drug affordability. The Province is committed to making sure British Columbians can find and afford the prescription drugs they need. That commitment shows in our work to lower the cost of generic drugs, negotiating lower prices with manufacturers and to cover more medications under PharmaCare.

Since 2012, the Province has been taking steps to reduce drug costs, first through the Drug Price Regulation of the Pharmaceutical Services Act and by joining forces with other provinces and territories to increase negotiation power with pharmaceutical companies through the working group for the Pan-Canadian Competitive Value Price Initiative for Generic Drugs.

Through the Pan-Canadian working group, B.C. and other participating provinces now pay 18% of the brand name price on a total of 14 generic drugs.

Lowering the price on these four additional generic drugs will save British Columbians $5 million a year. That’s above the $110 million over two years saved by B.C.’s generic price legislation and the lowering of the price of the previous 10 drugs to 18%.

Quick Facts:

• Since the beginning of 2012, these savings have allowed PharmaCare to cover 48 new drugs and 22 new supplies for conditions such as hepatitis C, diabetes, multiple sclerosis, bipolar disorder, arthritis, epilepsy, schizophrenia, chronic pain, asthma, cystic fibrosis, and many more.
• The Province's efforts to bend the cost curve on medications has meant we have reduced PharmaCare’s budget by more than 8% in 2014, while continuing to expand coverage.
• Through Fair PharmaCare, every British Columbian is eligible for assistance with prescription costs. Deductible levels are set up to reflect patients’ ability to pay, with the lowest income earners paying no deductible.
• The Canadian Institute for Health Information has reported B.C. has the lowest per capita prescription drug expenditure among the provinces in the country, at $635 per person.
• Since 2000-01, the PharmaCare budget increased by approximately 65%, from $655 million to almost $1.1 billion for 2014-15.

Learn more:

To learn more about PharmaCare, please visit: http://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/topic.page?id=D1A5394E2B5F4A358A65C07D202E8955

Media Contacts:

Laura Heinze
Media Relations Manager
Ministry of Health
250 952-1887 (media line)