Ontario residents are set to benefit from an accelerated process to access newly approved cancer medications, as announced by Sylvia Jones, the Deputy Premier and Health Minister of the province. The initiative, known as the Funding Accelerated for Specific Treatments (FAST) program, aims to provide quicker access to life-saving cancer treatments, reducing wait times by nearly a year. The program, which will run as a three-year pilot, will fast-track up to 10 high-priority cancer drugs annually, approved by Health Canada through the Project Orbis Pathway.
Project Orbis, an international collaboration initiated by the United States and involving countries like Canada, Australia, Brazil, Switzerland, Singapore, the United Kingdom, and Israel, seeks to expedite patient access to approved medications while negotiations on pricing take place across Canada.
Emphasizing the importance of expediency while ensuring safety, Jones highlighted the streamlined drug negotiations under the FAST program. When asked about the alignment of this effort with broader strategies of the pan-Canadian Pharmaceutical Alliance to hasten drug price negotiation timelines nationwide, Jones stressed the significance of interprovincial collaboration.
Bettina Hamelin, President and CEO of Innovative Medicines Canada, representing the pharmaceutical industry, noted that the project prioritizes timely access to critical treatments, starting with oncology. While Dr. Bishal Gyawali, a medical oncologist and associate professor at Queen’s University, praised the initiative as a positive step, he emphasized the need to verify that early drug access indeed benefits patients.
Gyawali also pointed out the importance of examining why pharmaceutical companies are not reducing their prices, urging for industry accountability. Additionally, Mina Tadrous, a researcher in drug policy at the University of Toronto, suggested that encouraging companies to introduce medications to the Canadian market sooner could further expedite patient access to essential treatments.
