Episode 12: Doug Clark on PMPRB’s Path Forward

Last October, the Patented Medicine Prices Review Board (PMPRB) published new guidelines aimed at modernizing Canada’s pricing framework for patented medicines. The guidelines and regulations are the culmination of a five-year process that began in 2016 and the regulations are currently scheduled to be implemented on July 1, 2021.

What changes in the Canadian pharmaceutical market drove these reforms? What goals is the Board looking to achieve through these forthcoming changes?  What does “success” look like over the coming years? And what key learnings is it taking away from a stakeholder engagement process that was both long and contentious?

In this episode, Peter Cleary and Ross Wallace are joined by PMPRB Executive Director Doug Clark, to discuss the PMPRB’s recent reform push, what happens next, and how the Board hopes to constructively engage the public, patients and other stakeholders over the coming months.

A career public servant, Doug Clark has a background in international trade law, intellectual property policy, pharmaceutical industry issues and competition law enforcement. In 2006, Doug became the Director of the Patent and Trademark Policy Directorate at Industry Canada, where he led a number of legislative and regulatory initiatives under the Patent Act and Trademarks Act, including the development of Canada’s Access to Medicines Regime (CAMR) and pharmaceutical patent litigation reform. In 2009, Doug joined the Competition Bureau as Assistant Deputy Commissioner, Civil Matters Branch, and most recently became Executive Director of the PMPRB in 2013.