CEADM Applauds CADTH's Decision to Recommend an Innovative Depression Medication for Publicly-Funded Drug Plans in Canada

OTTAWA, Feb. 18, 2020 /CNW/ - Canadians for Equal Access to Depression Medication (CEADM) applauds the Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health's (CADTH) recent decision recommending that the innovative medication vortioxetine be reimbursed for the treatment of major depressive disorder (MDD).

CEADM, a national organization of physicians, researchers, mental health organizations and persons with lived experience, has been advocating long and hard for listing innovative depression medications on publicly funded drug plans to ensure equitable access for all Canadians living with depression, not just those with private health plans. The organization sees CADTH's decision as a step in the right direction, reversing a long-standing trend to reject applications for these kinds of medicines. (It has been a striking 16 years since CADTH has approved a single innovative medication to treat major depressive disorders.)

"Every year, one in five Canadians will experience mental illness or a serious mental health problem," said Brianne Moore, one of CEADM's national co-chairs, and a person with lived experience. "Yet thousands of Canadians living with major depressive disorder, who don't have private drug coverage, are denied access to a full range of innovative medicines to treat their illness. Because only a limited number of drugs to treat depression are covered by provincial public drug plans, inequitable access affects the most vulnerable populations in our society. The decision to recommend that an innovative depression medication be included on public plans will go a long way to providing relief to some who rely on public plans."

Because depression is a complex illness with 227 combinations of symptoms, depression medications that treat only mood symptoms leave many Canadians struggling to find a new, innovative medication to begin their journey to recovery. While CADTH's Canadian Drug Expert Committee's (CDEC) positive recommendation is a step in the right direction, CEADM's call for the approval of a wider range of new and innovative drug treatment options for Canadians living with MDD will continue.

Dr. Sidney Kennedy, professor of Psychiatry at the University of Toronto, the Arthur Sommer Rotenberg Chair in Suicide and Depression Studies, and member of CEADM, responded to CADTH's recent recommendation. "Historically, assessing the effectiveness of a depression medication is based on an antiquated approach – 'Does this make you feel better?' The 40-percent of people with depression who don't respond to the standard medications need access to a variety of medications. I am hopeful CADTH's recent recommendation that vortioxetine be reimbursed for the treatment of MDD is an acknowledgement that given the 227 combinations of the symptoms of depression, one size of [treatment] does not fit all," Dr. Kennedy said.

"Offering Canadians living with MDD a wide range of new, innovative treatment options acknowledges that we do have good treatments for mental health conditions," said Dr. Patrick Smith, CEO for the Ottawa-based Centre of Excellence on Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Related Mental Health Conditions. "Around the world, the jury is in. Evidence shows that treatments for mental illness are equally effective as treatments for other chronic conditions. All innovative treatments should be available and covered just like any other chronic illness."

Up until last week's decision by CADTH, between 2004 and 2020, the federal process to review and provide listing recommendations to participating publicly-funded drug benefit plans has not recommended a single new, innovative depression medication. CEADM views CADTH's recent positive recommendation as a good start to removing the inequity faced by Canadians living with depression.

SOURCE Canadians for Equal Access to Depression Medication (CEADM)

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