Canada’s life sciences potential: Stalled by access delays and regulatory hurdles
IMC’s Bettina Hamelin argues that Canada has the core assets to be a global leader, but systemic bottlenecks are stifling investment and patient care (Issue #356, 1,430 words, 7 minutes)
Good morning, and welcome to the NPC Healthbiz Weekly e-newsletter from the National Pharmaceutical Congress and Chronicle Companies.
Canada has the talent and industrial capacity to lead in the life sciences, says Bettina Hamelin. However, the President of Innovative Medicines Canada notes that slow adoption of innovation, regulatory delays, and political uncertainty continue to limit the industry. “It takes about two years after Health Canada approves a drug for these medicines to get on public formularies,” she said, speaking on the NPC Podcast.
Hamelin also pointed to significant regional disparities in drug access, with patients in some provinces waiting much longer than others for the same therapies. She said these disparities have become a significant barrier for companies that are considering investing in Canada, adding that while Health Canada has improved its approach and approvals are faster than before, challenges remain in the system.
Hamelin [pictured below] noted that trade policy has also become an urgent matter for the pharma industry. She said that the inclusion of pharmaceuticals on the list of potential retaliatory tariff measures by the Canadian government could have serious consequences. “Patients’ lives should not be a bargaining chip in negotiations,” she said. According to Hamelin, proposed tariffs could affect about Cdn$4 billion in imports, adding an estimated Cdn$1 billion in costs to an already strained healthcare system. She also pointed out possible compliance risks, noting that tariff-driven price increases could create legal and contractual challenges for companies.
Tariffs could worsen existing drug shortages and disrupt already complex global supply chains, Hamelin said. She noted that pharma’s supply chains are deeply interconnected, with different stages of production often taking place in different countries. Changes to established supply pathways could have serious consequences for patient access. “Medicines are not commodities like other things that are being debated,” she said. “That’s why they should be completely excluded from this whole retaliatory debate.”
Despite these challenges, Hamelin expressed optimism about Canada’s life sciences industry. “Canada has incredible talent, a highly educated workforce, world-leading universities and strong institutional science,” she said. “We have a sophisticated network of life sciences organizations, with excellence in artificial intelligence and digital health.”
She also mentioned a strong community of entrepreneurs working closely with industry and research institutions to translate scientific advances into real-world applications. She said that these assets position Canada to become a stronger global leader if stakeholders work collaboratively.
Bottom Line: Looking ahead, Hamelin believes that AI and genomics will define the next decade of healthcare innovation. She added that AI will accelerate every aspect of the industry, from research and development to diagnosis and system-level processes. “Obviously, there will need to be guardrails, ethics, and oversight, but innovation brings enormous opportunity,” she said. Biotechnology, she added, is an area that particularly excites her. “That is where we will see major progress, especially as we move further into [disease] prevention,” she said.
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THIS WEEK 02/10/26
Bristol Myers Squibb Canada announced that nivolumab (Opdivo), in combination with ipilimumab (Yervoy), is now publicly reimbursed in Ontario for the first-line treatment of adult patients with unresectable or advanced hepatocellular carcinoma who meet specific clinical criteria.
Health Canada has authorized Mirum Pharmaceuticals’ maralixibat oral solution and tablet formulations (Livmarli) for the treatment of cholestatic pruritus in patients aged 12 months or older with progressive familial intrahepatic cholestasis.
Health Canada announced an expanded indication for Teva’s fremanezumab solution for subcutaneous injection (Ajovy). It’s now approved to prevent episodic migraines in pediatric patients aged six to 17 years who weigh at least 45 kg.
Apotex and Grünenthal entered into a licensing agreement whereby Apotex will have the exclusive Canadian rights to testosterone undecanoate (Nebido), a long-acting injectable therapy indicated for the treatment of male hypogonadism (testosterone deficiency).
Health Canada approved Merck’s clesrovimab (Enflonsia) for the prevention of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) lower respiratory tract disease in newborns and infants born during or entering their first RSV season.
NOW, LISTEN UP: Mike Cloutier’s leadership journey
In Season 15 of the NPC Podcast, Co-Chairman of BridgeBright Advisors Mike Cloutier discusses leadership at scale, leadership in the current political climate, and the hardware for being a successful leader. Hear him in conversation with podcast hosts Mitch Shannon, Jim Shea, and Mark McElwain.
CANADIAN HEALTHCARE MARKETING HALL OF FAME
The Canadian Healthcare Marketing Hall of Fame awards were established in 2002 to honour healthcare marketers who have contributed to our vocation and inspire others.
More than 100 honourees have been selected during the past 23 years. In the selection committee’s view, they represent a cross-section of the qualities that make our business unique and fulfilling. NPC Healthbiz Weekly will acknowledge past Hall of Fame Honorees over the next few weeks. Nominate a colleague for the 2026 Canadian Healthcare Marketing Hall of Fame by clicking here.
2002 Inductee
Clifford K. Goodman
Mountain, Ontario
Editor’s note: Cliff is now retired
“There’s never been a day that I didn’t want to go to work,” says Cliff Goodman, reflecting on his 40 years in the healthcare publishing business. In fact, “I was there when it all happened,” jests the founder and president of Keith Health Care and a man who has served as an inspiration for many key players in healthcare media.
Goodman, who earned his stripes with some of Canada’s best-known healthcare institutions, is well-equipped to be a mentor. He learned the ropes early on as ad manager for the Ontario Medical Association journal, the Ontario Medical Review in 1961, and then director of communications for the College of Family Physicians of Canada’s Canadian Family Physician in the mid-’60s. For nearly 10 years, he was business manager for a group of the Canadian Medical Association journals, his last “job” before going independent with Keith Health Care in 1979. The company is now an industry leader in ad sales and contract publishing for the Canadian healthcare community and is partnered with more than 20 of the country’s leading professional healthcare associations.
“If I have any strengths at all, it’s knowing what associations go through,” says Goodman, who has been the driving force behind many cooperative efforts. He is a founding member of the Pharmaceutical Advertising Advisory Board (PAAB) and has served as president of the Canadian Association of Medical Publishers (CAMP) for two terms. His belief in the importance of market research has spearheaded the move toward readership studies and the formation of the Medical Media Measurement Bureau (MMMB), now merged into PMB, in Canada.
Associations are “quite different from most kinds of businesses,” maintains Goodman, who adds that while business success is measured by the bottom line, “associations depend on the accomplishments of their membership.” Declining membership is, however, a major hurdle for most associations since “There are too many options for people to belong to too many things.”
One of his proudest moments occurred in 1998 when, as the newly elected president of the Asthma Society of Canada, he was called upon to rescue a major Canadian charity from obscurity. Questionable accounting practices left over from the previous administration had led to the loss of the ASC’s charitable status. “It was a great challenge,” he says about the effort required to recover that status. “I was able to do it because I simply had all the years of experience with associations.”
Goodman’s philosophy is to “hit a major problem head on,” and that has served him well in the industry, and it also seems to have helped his golf game. He notes that being the winner of the PMCQ’s Low Gross golf tournament award for three years running is one of his greatest achievements. “That was the highlight of my life because everyone since then has thought I’m a great golfer—and I’m not,” he chuckles.
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