Agenda
Flip through our conference brochure and discover what’s new this year.
Download Brochure
Day 1
March 26, 2025
Registration and Continental Breakfast Served
10 Year Anniversary Panel
Reflecting on 10 Years in Canada’s Pharmaceutical Landscape: A Progress Report on Promoting Innovation and Improving Patient Access
Bettina HamelinPresidentInnovative Medicines Canada (IMC)
Jason FieldPresident & CEOLife Sciences Ontario
Ed DybkaGeneral ManagerIpsen Canada
Mark OmotoGeneral ManagerIQVIA
This special power panel of key stakeholders from across Canada’s pharmaceutical and health care sector will provide reflections and perspectives on the polices and initiatives that have shaped the innovation ecosystem and impacted patient access in Canada. Each panelist will highlight significant strides and persistent barriers to timely access and reimbursement before turning their attention to what’s ahead, with a federal election looming. Key themes to be explore include:
- Innovation vs. system sustainability
- Addressing unmet patient needs through expedited pathways to access
- Assessing progress on pharmacare and anticipating the impact of political shifts
Sudha KuttyExecutive Vice-President, Evidence, Products, and ServicesCanada's Drug Agency
Sudha Kutty will speak to changes underway at Canada’s Drug Agency in the Reimbursement Review Program. What can you anticipate to see and when. What will change, what will stay the same and what will the impact be.
Morning Coffee & Networking Break Sponsored by 
Examining Canada’s First Time-Limited Recommendation: Key Takeaways from the Process in Practice for Your Market Access Strategy
Sudha KuttyExecutive Vice-President, Evidence, Products, and ServicesCanada's Drug Agency
Stephane BarakatHead, Market Access & HEOR – OncologyAbbVie
Canada’s Drug Agency has granted the first-ever time-limited reimbursement recommendation to AbbVie for an injectable lymphoma treatment. The TLR pathway was created by the CDA in collaboration with the pCPA to address unmet patient needs, faster. A temporary recommendation is given based on Phase II clinical data while more evidence is collected for future evaluation.
- Navigating the TLR and pTAP process
- Outlining the types of drugs eligible for the TLR
- Identifying potential opportunities to expedite access to drugs in your pipeline with insights on the TLR process in practice
- Exploring regulatory and manufacturer perspectives on what worked well and future considerations for the process
- Anticipating future expansion of the recommendation category
- Examining how RWE will be used to support decision-making as part of this pathway
Lunch Break
Case Study
Shaping the Future of Market Access: Examining How Technology Can Support Access and Catalyze Pharma-Payer Collaboration
Sang Mi LeeExecutive DirectorMorse Consulting Inc.
Nathan SigworthPresident and FounderCCX
Andrea MastersDirector, Strategic Access and Pricing LeadRoche
David GreissDirector of Pharmaceutical Partnerships and OperationsGreenShield
Implementing the National Strategy for Drugs for Rare Disease
Durhane Wong-RiegerPresident & CEOCORD
Gerry JeffcottSenior Associate3Sixty Public Affairs
Gail OuelletteDirectorCanadian iRARE Centres
Farah JivrajHead of Market Access, Policy and Stakeholder RelationsBiogen
In March 2023, the Government of Canada announced up to $1.5 billion in funding over three years to support the National Strategy for Drugs for Rare Disease. The hope is that this will help lower drug costs and improve patient access. Part of the investment will go to the provinces through bilateral agreements, with the first made with British Columbia.
- Detailing how drugs are being evaluated and ultimately selected for the common list
- Analyzing how bilateral agreements between the Government of Canada and the provinces will improve access and reduce funding challenges for DRD
- Assessing the role of manufacturers and key stakeholders in RWE collection as part of this process
Afternoon Networking and Refreshment Break Sponsored by
Case Study and Breakout Discussion
Farah MeghjiCo-FounderUnum Co.
Claire SnymanPatient Experience Consultant
Stephanie LandonSenior Healthcare Communications Specialist
Robby SpringHealth Innovation, Patient Engagement and Advocacy
Gillian BromfieldNational Policy Lead, Broadening ValueRoche Canada
Day 2
March 27, 2025
Registration Opens and Continental Breakfast Served
Alex ChambersSenior Market Access ManagerBayer
Julie FrappierPresident & FounderTOWWERS Program, Data4Actions
Ursula MannPrincipal and Chief Patient Officer (CPO)PatientVoicePartners
Tara CowlingPresidentMedlior
This panel will explore how real-world evidence (RWE) can enhance decision-making for rare diseases. Topics include evaluating the return on investment in bilateral funding agreements, integrating patient and caregiver perspectives into treatment assessments, and improving data linkage across sources like patient support programs, private payers, and registries. Panelists will also discuss how RWE can inform societal impact assessments, shaping HTA evaluations and price negotiations for faster, more equitable access to treatments. A proposed learning project will explore how this evidence can better support HTA in rare diseases.
Elena GeorgievaAssociate PrincipalIQVIA
PMPRB recently invited stakeholders to comment on a discussion guide outlining the proposed framework for drug price reviews that will make up the new guidelines.
- Overview of the proposed framework, including international price comparison (IPC) options:
- Median International Price (MIP)
- Highest International Price (HIP)
- The midpoint between MIP and HIP
- Demonstrating how different pricing options will be applied in reviews using case study examples
- Anticipating the impact of different pricing options on innovator drug companies and patient access
- Assessing how grandfathered patented medicines will be impacted under the new framework
Morning Coffee & Networking Break Sponsored by
SPECIAL FOCUS ON QUEBEC
QUEBEC CASE STUDY
Dara JospéPartnerFasken
What happens when you are not successful in negotiating an LOI with the pCPA? Can individual jurisdictions negotiate independently? And what happens when they refuse to do so? A judicial review is currently being brought in Quebec to explore these issues. This session will detail that judicial review and the pseudo-administrative framework which led to the court action.
Lunch Break
Michael Nashat, PharmD, RPhDirectorOnPharm-United
Suzanne LepagePrivate Health Plan StrategistSuzanne Lepage Consulting
Ontario’s Ministry of Finance is consulting on the role of preferred pharmacy networks (PPN) in Ontario’s employer-sponsored drug insurance industry following pushback from patient groups and industry associations.
For the insurance companies entering into these contractual agreements that allow only specific pharmacies to provide services to members, the argument is that it will lower costs. However, there are concerns that PPNs disrupt care and jeopardize patient access.
This session will focus on:
- Defining the role of preferred pharmacy networks
- Understanding the different network designs
- Weighing the pros and cons of PPNs
- Assessing the impact on patient access and the overall health system
- Addressing concerns that PPNs are anticompetitive
- Examining current regulations for PPNs in Ontario and the rest of Canada
- Anticipating how the regulatory environment could evolve due to Ontario’s consultation process
Mina TadrousAssistant Professor
Leslie Dan Faculty of PharmacyUniversity of Toronto
Since the pandemic, disruptions to the pharmaceutical supply chain have been exacerbated. A multi-stakeholder group in Canada is working diligently to mitigate the impact on patients. Significant strides toward monitoring and managing drug supply have been made with the creation of a tracking system for critical drugs. These are the shortages or discontinuation events expected to have the highest impact on Canada’s drug supply and overall health system.
- Examining the newly established national drug shortage list and how it will be used to communicate and act on potential shortages in the future
- Assessing current supply chain challenges impacting drug supply in Canada
- Identifying how stakeholders across the pharmaceutical supply chain and the healthcare system can assist with the prevention and mitigation of drug shortages
- Exploring how artificial intelligence can assist with real-time monitoring
Afternoon Break
Gail AttaraChief Executive OfficerGastrointestinal Society
A report developed by the Gastrointestinal Society reveals inequities in drug access across Canada. According to the analysis, British Columbia is not keeping up with other provinces’ drug budgets and has denied coverage of critical medications approved by other provinces. This session will take a deep dive into gaps in spending and the patient impact.
Philippe Laplante, FICA,FSAPrincipalEckler
- Understanding how drug insurance pooling is used in Canada to manage and offset the impact of high-cost drug claims
- Understanding the finer actuarial considerations for measuring risk
- Identifying the provincial differences in the implementation of pooling
- Assessing the ability of pooling to manage multiple or recurring high-cost drug claims
- Understanding plan sponsor perspectives on pooling
- Forecasting the future of pooling frameworks