Canada’s Drug and Health Technology Agency (CADTH) has announced that, as of May 1, 2024, its new operating name will be Canada’s Drug Agency / l’Agence des médicaments du Canada (CDA-AMC). The official launch will occur later this year, and CADTH will be updating its materials and expanding its operations accordingly.
Background
The CDA-AMC’s creation stems from recommendations of the Advisory Council on the Implementation of National Pharmacare and the federal government’s 2019 Budget Plan. In Budget 2019, the government allocated $35 million over four years to establish the Canadian Drug Agency Transition Office, which was tasked with developing a vision, mandate, and plan for the CDA-AMC.
As we reported, the formation of the CDA-AMC from CADTH was formally announced in December of 2023. CADTH conducts health technology assessments (HTAs) for Canada’s federal, provincial, and territorial public drug programs (with the exception of Quebec) to guide their drug reimbursement decisions.
CDA-AMC Mandate
The work of the CDA-AMC will expand on CADTH’s existing mandate and functions (i.e., HTAs, post-market safety and effectiveness), introducing new work streams including:
- improving the appropriate prescribing and use of medications;
- increasing pan-Canadian data collection and expanding access to drug and treatment data, including real-world evidence data; and
- reducing drug system duplication and lack of coordination.
As we also reported, the stated purpose of the federal government’s Bill C-64, An Act respecting pharmacare (the Pharmacare Act), includes supporting the CDA-AMC’s development of:
- a national formulary list of essential prescription drugs and related products; and
- a national bulk purchasing strategy for prescription drugs and related products.
Bill C-64 is currently in second reading before the House of Commons.