Patented Medicine Prices Review Board

The Patented Medicine Prices Review Board (PMPRB) is an independent body established by Parliament in 1987 under the Patent Act. It protects consumers by ensuring prices charged by manufacturers for patented medicines are not excessive. It does this by reviewing the prices that patentees charge for each individual patented drug product in Canadian markets. If a price is found to be excessive, the Board can hold public hearings and order price reductions and/or the offset of excess revenues. The PMPRB regulates the “factory gate” prices and does not have jurisdiction over prices charged by wholesalers or pharmacies, or over pharmacists´ professional fees. The PMPRB is also responsible for reporting on trends in pharmaceutical sales and pricing for all medicines and for reporting research and development spending by patentees.

Although part of the Health Portfolio, the PMPRB carries out its mandate at arm´s length from the Minister of Health. It also operates independently of other bodies such as Health Canada, which approves drugs for safety, efficacy and quality; federal, provincial and territorial public drug plans, which are responsible for listing reimbursement decisions for their respective plans; and the Common Drug Review, which provides listing recommendations based on cost-effectiveness to participating public drug plans.