Submission to the Standing Committee on Health, Study on Prescription Drugs

The BC Persons with AIDS Society made this submission to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Health on September 22, 2003 because pharmeceutical products are a key component to staying alive for most HIV positive people and HIV positive people have a strong vested interest in what the Standing Committee hears, understands and recommends. In the submission, the Society notes the rising cost of prescription drugs, how those rising costs affect people with HIV and the role of the Patent Medicines Pricing Review Board and the then newly created Common Drug Review in determining drug pricing or even whether provinces will consider placing a drug in its formulary. The Society makes several recommendations on the following: Mechanisms for reviewing and controlling prices on all prescription drugs; Mechanisms for approving new drugs and introducing them onto the market, with respect to their therapeutic value, their side effects, their interactions with other drugs etc., as well as a focus on clinical trials; Monitoring of adverse effects and prescribing practices; Direct-To-Consumer Adversting. Underlying all issues related to prescriptions drugs and these recommendations are a few key principles. The BCPWA Society believes in our right to make informed choices; our right as consumers to have a voice in all aspects of decision making regarding prescription drugs from bench to beside; transparency by both industry and government regarding all aspects of prescription drugs; the responsibility of the state to create the conditions necessary to permit its citizens to maximize their health; the need for safe, effective and accessible products, recognizing that safety, efficacy, and accessibility may be defined differently depending on the state of one's health.