National pharmaceutical associations join forces in identifying solutions for drug shortages

CGPA and CAPDM report examines underlying causes of drug shortages only recently gaining wider attention and recommends prescription for change

TORONTO, Feb. 27, 2025 /CNW/ - As drug shortages continue to escalate globally and nationally, driven by a complex array of factors such as economic pressures, regulatory barriers, and lean supply chain limitations, the Canadian Generic Pharmaceutical Association (CGPA) and the Canadian Association for Pharmacy Distribution Management (CAPDM) have collaboratively developed a comprehensive report aimed at finding sustainable solutions. This initiative comes in response to Health Canada's call for stakeholder cooperation to strengthen resilience against these shortages.

The report, A Path Forward: Collaborative Solutions to Strengthen Canada's Drug Supply, outlines the significant challenges associated with drug shortages, highlighting that the problem is multifaceted, with many underlying causes only recently being acknowledged. This report also offers actionable recommendations to help remedy these issues and reinforces the necessity of uniting all key stakeholders – including drug manufacturers, healthcare professional and practitioner organizations, hospital group purchasing organizations, government, academia, and other important pharmaceutical supply chain influencers – to foster a more resilient and responsive supply chain.

"Resilience against drug shortages rests on the strength of partnerships," said Jim Keon, president, CGPA and its Biosimilars Canada division. "Through continued collaboration and innovative approaches, we can combat drug shortages and enhance the resilience of Canada's pharmaceutical supply chain."

The CGPA-CAPDM report identifies five key recommendations for the multiple factors that contribute to drug shortages in Canada.

These five recommendations listed in order of priority include:

1. Enhance collaboration through early, proactive, and more consistent sharing of information to respond to and mitigate potential shortages.
2. Harmonize and ease the burden of regulatory requirements to enable greater access to the global drug supply.
3. Invest in supply chain diversification.
4. Establish conditions to increase prices for medicines that are critical and vulnerable to drug shortages.
5. Increase buffer stock, with appropriate compensation and shared risk, to allow time for system-wide responses.

"The commitment to equitable patient access must remain at the forefront of our efforts," said Angelique Berg, president and CEO, CAPDM. "Strategies to address the root causes of shortages require a focus on improving physical access across our vast country, so that every Canadian has access to the medicines essential for their care."

To view the full report, please visit: https://canadiangenerics.ca/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/02_14_25_CGPA_CAPDM_SUMMIT_REPORT_FINAL.pdf.

Reality of drug shortages in Canada 

- Drug shortages pose a growing threat to Canada's already strained healthcare system and to the reliable supply of essential medicines, and remedying this issue is complex with no single solution or quick fix.

- Recent data indicates that one in two Canadian adults and one in four children required a prescription within a single month.

- Since 2017 in Canada, 10 to 15 per cent of drugs were in shortage at any given time, and over half (55 per cent) of marketed drugs have experienced at least one shortage.

- In 2023 to 2024 alone, over 3,000 drug shortages were reported, with an average shortage duration of 93.5 days.

- Shortages can occur when demand exceeds supply, whether due to an unexpected increase in demand or a disruptive shortfall in supply. Shortages caused by supply constraints are often symptoms of deeper supply chain issues – highly complex and specific to the affected drug.

About the Canadian Generic Pharmaceutical Association
The Canadian Generic Pharmaceutical Association (CGPA) represents Canada's generic pharmaceutical industry. The industry plays an important role in controlling health-care costs in Canada. Generic drugs are dispensed to fill more than 77.4 percent of all prescriptions but account for only 22.4 percent of the $46.3 billion Canadians spend annually on prescription medicines. For more information, visit canadiangenerics.ca.

About the Canadian Association for Pharmacy Distribution Management  
The Canadian Association for Pharmacy Distribution Management (CAPDM) is the national trade association and voice representing Canada's healthcare supply chain. CAPDM members play a key role in simplifying a complex supply chain infrastructure and are responsible for delivering over 90 per cent of all retail pharmaceuticals in Canada, streamlining orders and deliveries for 15,000 product SKUs between hundreds of drug manufacturers and more than 12,000 dispensing points nationally. CAPDM works with pharmaceutical distributors, manufacturers, service providers, pharmacies, and governments to ensure a robust and resilient system for delivering essential medicines to Canadians. For more information, visit capdm.ca.

For more information, please contact: 

Michele Penz
Media Relations Liaison
Calico Communications
Tel: [phone]
[email protected]

Jeff Connell
Vice President, Corporate Affairs
Canadian Generic Pharmaceutical Association (CGPA)
Tel: [phone]
[email protected]

Randi Gill
Communications Manager
Canadian Association for Pharmacy Distribution Management (CAPDM)
Tel: [phone]
[email protected]

SOURCE Canadian Association for Pharmacy Distribution Management (CAPDM)