Program directory · Patented Medicine Prices Review Board Canada
Pharmaceutical Trends Program
- Program code
- BVM02 (PMPRB)
- Core responsibility
- Regulate Patented Medicine Prices
- In Departmental Plans
- 2018-19 – 2024-25 · Appeared and later dropped
What it does
The pharmaceutical trends program publishes an annual report tabled in Parliament by the Minister of Health on trends in manufacturers' prices of patented medicines sold in Canada and on patentees' research-and-development expenditures. This information enables Canadians to gauge the effectiveness of the regime in meeting its policy objectives. In addition, as a result of the establishment of the National Prescription Drug Utilization Information System (NPDUIS) by federal, provincial and territorial (F/P/T) ministers of health, the PMPRB reports publicly on price, utilization and cost trends of patented and non-patented prescription drugs. These reports enable F/P/T drug plan managers and policy makers to identify, anticipate and respond to cost drivers in pharmaceutical spending. They also serve as a source of timely, accurate and impartial information for stakeholders and other interested members of the public on a variety of pharmaceutical related topics.
Source: the department's Program Inventory, via GC InfoBase.
History and lineage
First appears in GC InfoBase's actual spending by program in 2018-19. The data does not record when a program was created; it may be older than its first appearance here, which is limited by the sources (program spending starts in 2010-11, Departmental Plans in 2018-19).
| Program | Relation | Years with data | Actual spending over those years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pharmaceutical Trends Program | This program | 2018-19 – 2026-27 | $13.2M |
| Pharmaceutical Trends Program | Later program (name match, high confidence) | 2025-26 – 2028-29 | — |
Significant changes in scope and budget
Detected from the data: renames between plans, programs it appears to replace, merge with or split into (matched by name), year-over-year changes in spending of at least 25% and $5M, or in employees of at least 20% and 25 FTEs, linked budget measures, and results indicators added or dropped.
| Year | What changed | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 2025-26 | Appears to be replaced by Pharmaceutical Trends Program | Canada Spends name match across plans (an inference) |
Success criteria
The program's indicators from its department's Departmental Results Framework: the target set in each year's plan, and the result reported the following year. Source: GC InfoBase.
Historical: targets against results
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018-19 | ≥ 10 | 2019 | 10 | Met |
| 2019-20 | ≥ 12 | 2020 | 13 The PMPRB gave presentations at 13 external events and participated in another 18 external events. | Met |
| 2020-21 | ≥ 12 | 2021 | 12 The PMPRB continues to support and strengthen its NPDUIS engagement activities by regularly consulting with the NPDUIS Advisory Committee, participating in conferences and stakeholder committees, and organizing bilingual information sessions with interested stakeholders to share the results of the analytical studies. | Met |
| 2021-22 | ≥ 12 | 2022 | 13 The PMPRB continues to support and strengthen its NPDUIS engagement activities by regularly consulting with the NPDUIS Advisory Committee, participating in conferences and stakeholder committees, and organizing bilingual information sessions with interested stakeholders to share the results of the analytical studies. | Met |
| 2022-23 | ≥ 12 | 2023 | 15 The PMPRB continues to support and strengthen its NPDUIS engagement activities by regularly consulting with the NPDUIS Advisory Committee, participating in conferences and stakeholder committees, and organizing bilingual information sessions with interested stakeholders to share the results of the analytical studies. | Met |
| 2023-24 | ≥ 12 | 2024 | 11 The PMPRB continues to support and strengthen its NPDUIS engagement activities by regularly consulting with the NPDUIS Advisory Committee, participating in conferences and stakeholder committees, and organizing bilingual information sessions with interested stakeholders to share the results of the analytical studies. | Not met |
| 2024-25 | ≥ 12 | 2025 | 16 The PMPRB continues to support and strengthen its NPDUIS engagement activities by regularly consulting with the NPDUIS Advisory Committee, participating in conferences and stakeholder committees, and organizing bilingual information sessions with interested stakeholders to share the results of the analytical studies. | Met |
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018-19 | ≥ 12 | 2019 | 11 3 studies/reports and 8 posters | Not met |
| 2019-20 | ≥ 10 | 2020 | 13 In addition to its Annual Report tabled yearly in Parliament, in 2019-20, the PMPRB published four analytical reports, and eight posters under its National Prescription Drug Utilization Information System (NPDUIS) banner. | Met |
| 2020-21 | ≥ 10 | 2021 | 10 In 2020-21, the PMPRB published five analytical reports, three chartbooks, and two posters under the NPDUIS banner. | Met |
| 2021-22 | ≥ 10 | 2022 | 8 In 2021-22, the PMPRB published three analytical reports, one chartbook, three posters, and one slide presentation under the NPDUIS banner. Data delays and requirements surrounding the federal election cycle limited the number of publications released during the fiscal year. | Not met |
| 2022-23 | ≥ 10 | 2023 | 11 In 2022-23, the PMPRB published four analytical reports and seven posters under the NPDUIS banner. | Met |
| 2023-24 | ≥ 10 | 2024 | 11 In 2023-24, the PMPRB published four analytical reports and seven posters under the NPDUIS banner. | Met |
| 2024-25 | ≥ 10 | 2025 | 8 In 2024-25, the PMPRB published three analytical reports and five posters under the NPDUIS banner. | Not met |
Current: the 2026-27 plan's targets
No indicators in the 2026-27 plan.
Future goals: targets due after 2026-27
No targets with a later due date.
Spending and employees: planned against actual
Spending
Show the numbers
| Fiscal year | Planned | Actual |
|---|---|---|
| 2018-19 | $1.9M | $1.6M |
| 2019-20 | $2.1M | $1.6M |
| 2020-21 | $2.1M | $2M |
| 2021-22 | $2.2M | $1.7M |
| 2022-23 | $2.2M | $1.8M |
| 2023-24 | $2.2M | $2.3M |
| 2024-25 | $2.3M | $2.2M |
| 2025-26 | $2.3M* | — |
| 2026-27 | $2.3M* | — |
Employees (FTEs)
Show the numbers
| Fiscal year | Planned | Actual |
|---|---|---|
| 2018-19 | 13 | 12 |
| 2019-20 | 16 | 13 |
| 2020-21 | 16 | 13 |
| 2021-22 | 15 | 14 |
| 2022-23 | 15 | 12 |
| 2023-24 | 15 | 13 |
| 2024-25 | 15 | 13 |
| 2025-26 | 15* | — |
| 2026-27 | 15* | — |
Planned spending, plan by plan
Each row is one year's Departmental Plan and its forecast for the next three fiscal years; read a column down to see how the forecast for one year changed. The last row is what was actually spent. Click an amount for its source. Biggest changes in federal spending plans
| Plan | 2018-19 | 2019-20 | 2020-21 | 2021-22 | 2022-23 | 2023-24 | 2024-25 | 2025-26 | 2026-27 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018-19 plan | $1,928,251 | $2,087,393 | $2,094,147 | ||||||
| 2019-20 plan | $2,065,833 | $2,071,324 | $2,078,003 | ||||||
| 2020-21 plan | $2,115,906 | $2,134,452 | $2,115,597 | ||||||
| 2021-22 plan | $2,166,141 | $2,147,286 | $2,147,286 | ||||||
| 2022-23 plan | $2,150,077 | $2,150,077 | $2,150,077 | ||||||
| 2023-24 plan | $2,152,827 | $2,152,827 | $2,152,827 | ||||||
| 2024-25 plan | $2,302,292 | $2,319,109 | $2,322,726 | ||||||
| Actual | $1,610,269 | $1,599,927 | $1,997,375 | $1,698,289 | $1,753,810 | $2,294,690 | $2,196,274 |
Actual spending is from Departmental Results Reports and the Public Accounts, as published in GC InfoBase. FTEs are full-time equivalents.
