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{{Short description|Independent government health agency}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2023}}

'''Canada's Drug Agency''' ('''CDA'''; {{langx|fr|L’Agence des médicaments du Canada, AMC}}) is a pan-Canadian health organization responsible for coordinating and aligning drug policy across provinces and territories. The CDA provides [[Canada]]'s various healthcare organizations with evidence-based advice, allowing them to make informed choices about drug, health technology, and health system policies, in collaboration with international partners.<ref name="cadth-hist">{{cite web |last1=Cleary |first1=Michele |title=The State of Health Technology Assessment |url=https://www.ispor.org/docs/default-source/publications/value-outcomes-spotlight/march-april-2020/feature_state-of-hta.pdf |website=ISPOR |access-date=2024-07-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240530232312/https://www.ispor.org/docs/default-source/publications/value-outcomes-spotlight/march-april-2020/feature_state-of-hta.pdf |archive-date=2024-05-30}}</ref> Its role differs from that of [[Health Canada]] in that it can provide data on the comparative effectiveness of drugs and make recommendations that factor in metrics beyond safety and quality, including cost effectiveness.<ref name="prices">{{cite news |last1=Glennie |first1=Judith |title=Concrete Steps Toward National Pharmacare in Canada |url=https://globalforum.diaglobal.org/issue/september-2021/concrete-steps-toward-national-pharmacare-in-canada/ |access-date=2024-07-19 |work=Global Forum |date=September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240301110813/https://globalforum.diaglobal.org/issue/september-2021/concrete-steps-toward-national-pharmacare-in-canada/ |archive-date=2024-03-01}}</ref>

== History ==
In Canada, healthcare falls under the jurisdiction of [[Provinces and territories of Canada|provinces and territories]]. As such, historically each province has managed their own pharmaceutical system, from [[Formulary (pharmacy)|formularies]] to public prescription drug programs, in different ways.<ref name="background"/> This meant that [[health technology assessments]] were performed independently by a patchwork of organizations, with some provinces, like [[Quebec]] and [[British Columbia]] having their own in-house organizations, and others not having any at all.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Menon |first1=Devidas |title=Health technology assessment: the journey continues |journal=[[Canadian Medical Association Journal]] |date=2015-01-06 |volume=187 |issue=1 |doi=10.1503/cmaj.140698 |url=https://www.cmaj.ca/content/187/1/E19 |access-date=2024-07-25|pmc=4284188 }}</ref> In 1989, the CDA's predecessor, the ''Canadian Coordinating Office for Health Technology Assessment'' (CCOHTA), was created by the [[Government of Canada|federal government]] in response to this challenge.<ref name="cadth-hist"/><ref>{{cite web| url=https://www.cadth.ca/about-cadth| title=About CADTH| publisher=CADTH| access-date=6 October 2017| archive-date=6 October 2017| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171006212410/https://www.cadth.ca/about-cadth| url-status=live}}</ref> In 2006, the organization became the ''Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health'' (CADTH).<ref name="background">{{Cite web|url=https://www.ispor.org/htaroadmaps/canadapharm.asp|title=Pharmaceutical HTA and Reimbursement Processes – Canada|website=ispor.org|access-date=2018-07-22|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180722095636/https://www.ispor.org/htaroadmaps/canadapharm.asp|archive-date=22 July 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| url=https://www.cadth.ca/about-cadth/who-we-are/history| title=CADTH History| publisher=CADTH| access-date=6 October 2017| archive-date=6 October 2017| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171006212551/https://www.cadth.ca/about-cadth/who-we-are/history| url-status=dead}}</ref>

The limited scope of the CADTH, which was primarily concerned with technical expertise, proved ineffective at handling issues of inadequate infrastructure, poor return on investment, duplication of resources, and above all, "fragmentation" in the country's pharmaceutical system. As part of an effort to resolve these problems and improve coordination, for example by standardizing the collection of pharmaceutical data, the federal government established the ''Canadian Drug Agency Transition Office'' (CDATO) in 2021.<ref name="cdato">{{cite news |last1=Glennie |first1=Judith |title=Funding Established for Canadian Drug Agency Transition Office |url=https://globalforum.diaglobal.org/issue/december-2021/funding-established-for-canadian-drug-agency-transition-office/ |access-date=2024-07-19 |work=Global Forum |date=December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240719072906/https://globalforum.diaglobal.org/issue/december-2021/funding-established-for-canadian-drug-agency-transition-office/ |archive-date=2024-07-19}}</ref> Its mandate was to help transition the CADTH into a new organization, the CDA, which would absorb and "build on CADTH's existing mandate and functions," including the goal of maintaining affordable prices for pharmaceutical drugs.<ref name="prices"/><ref name=":1">{{Cite web |date=2023-02-21 |title=Canadian Drug Agency Transition Office |url=https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/corporate/about-health-canada/activities-responsibilities/canadian-drug-agency-transition-office.html |access-date=2024-01-03 |website=www.canada.ca |archive-date=3 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240103011436/https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/corporate/about-health-canada/activities-responsibilities/canadian-drug-agency-transition-office.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Government of Canada |first=Department of Finance |date=2019-03-19 |title=Budget 2019: Home |url=https://www.budget.canada.ca/2019/docs/themes/pharmacare-assurance-medicaments-en.html |access-date=2024-01-03 |website=www.budget.canada.ca |archive-date=10 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240210050542/https://www.budget.canada.ca/2019/docs/themes/pharmacare-assurance-medicaments-en.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The same year, CDATO began holding consultations with various stakeholders, including healthcare professionals, private insurers, medical institutions, academia, and research organizations.<ref name="cdato"/> Provincial and territorial involvement was crucial, as some of the new tasks envisioned for the future CDA were already being handled by region-specific organizations, like the {{interlanguage link|Institut national d'excellence en santé et en services sociaux|fr}} (INESSS) in [[Quebec]].<ref name="prices"/>

Upon completion of the Transition Office's work, CADTH was officially transitioned into the CDA on May 1, 2024,<ref>{{cite news |title=CADTH to Transform into Canada’s Drug Agency |url=https://www.pharmainbrief.com/2024/05/cadth-to-transform-into-canadas-drug-agency/ |access-date=2024-07-08 |work=Pharma In Brief |date=2024-05-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240708215736/https://www.pharmainbrief.com/2024/05/cadth-to-transform-into-canadas-drug-agency/ |archive-date=2024-07-08}}</ref> with the federal government allocating $89.5 million over the next five years to its continued development.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Canada |first=Health |date=2023-12-18 |title=The Government of Canada announces the creation of the Canadian Drug Agency |url=https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/news/2023/12/the-government-of-canada-announces-the-creation-of-the-canadian-drug-agency---helping-make-canadas-drug-system-more-sustainable-and-better-prepared.html |access-date=2024-01-03 |website=www.canada.ca |archive-date=25 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240325011724/https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/news/2023/12/the-government-of-canada-announces-the-creation-of-the-canadian-drug-agency---helping-make-canadas-drug-system-more-sustainable-and-better-prepared.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The move constitutes the first steps towards the establishment of a National [[Pharmacare]] Program.

== See also ==
* [[International Conference on Harmonisation of Technical Requirements for Registration of Pharmaceuticals for Human Use]] (ICH)
* [[Food and Drug Administration]] (FDA, USA)
* [[European Medicines Agency]] (EMEA, EU)
* [[Health Canada]]
* [[Pharmacare]]
==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [https://www.cadth.ca/ CADTH] — Canada
* [https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/health/about-bc-s-health-care-system/partners/health-authorities/bc-health-technology-assessment BC Health Technology Assessment] — British Columbia
* [https://www.hqontario.ca/Evidence-to-Improve-Care/Health-Technology-Assessment/Ontario-Health-Technology-Advisory-Committee Ontario Health Technology Advisory Committee (OHTAC)] — Ontario
* [[:fr:Institut national d'excellence en santé et en services sociaux|Institut national d'excellence en santé et en services sociaux (INESSS)]] — Quebec
* [https://www.mun.ca/nlcahr/chrsp/ Contextualized Health Research Synthesis Program (CHRSP)] — Newfoundland
* [https://novascotia.ca/dhw/pharmacare/drug-evaluation-alliance-of-nova-scotia.asp Drug Evaluation Alliance of Nova Scotia (DEANS)] — Maritimes
* [https://www.cadth.ca/hta-organizations-province-0 Other HTA organizations in Canada]
* [https://theta.utoronto.ca/hta-organizations Another list of HTA organizations in Canada]
* [http://www.inahta.org International Network of Agencies for Health Technology Assessment]

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Pharmaceuticals policy]]
[[Category:1989 establishments in Canada]]
[[Category:Organizations established in 1989]]

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Canada's Drug Agency - Revision history

imported>Nsophiay: Undid revision 1269312913 by Mikalra (talk) Reverting as per talk