News Release
For Immediate Release
Patented Medicine Prices Review Board issues a Notice of Hearing for allegations of excessive pricing of Soliris
January 22, 2015 – Ottawa, ON – Patented Medicine Prices Review Board
The Patented Medicine Prices Review Board will hold a public hearing in the matter of the price of the patented medicine Soliris, and Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc. (Alexion), the pharmaceutical company that holds the patent for Soliris and sells the medicine in Canada. Further details on the public hearing and a case management conference will be announced at a later date.
The purpose of the hearing is to determine whether, under section 83 of the Patent Act, Alexion
- is selling or has sold the medicine known as Soliris in any market in Canada at a price that, in the Board's opinion, is or was excessive; and
- if so, what order, if any, should be made to remedy the excessive pricing.
Soliris is the first and only treatment for patients with Paroxysmal Nocturnal Hemoglobinuria – a rare and life-threatening blood disorder characterized by excessive destruction of red blood cells – and Atypical Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome, a rare and life-threatening genetic disorder characterized by blood clots in small vessels.
Those wishing to participate in this proceeding must apply to the Board for leave to intervene. For further information on the application process, please contact:
Guillaume Couillard
Director, Board Secretariat
Patented Medicine Prices Review Board
Box L40, 333 Laurier Avenue West, Suite 1400
Ottawa, Ontario K1P 1C1
Telephone: 613-954-8299
Fax: 613-952-7626
E-mail: Guillaume.Couillard@pmprb-cepmb.gc.ca
Quick facts
- The Patented Medicine Prices Review Board is an independent quasi-judicial body that protects the interests of Canadian consumers by ensuring the prices of patented medicines sold in Canada are not excessive.
- Board Staff review the prices that patentees charge for each individual patented drug product sold in Canadian markets on an ongoing basis.
- When Board Staff find that the price of a patented drug product appears not to comply with pricing guidelines, they will conduct an investigation to determine the facts. An investigation could result in: the closure of the file, where it is concluded that the price complies with pricing guidelines; a Voluntary Compliance Undertaking, whereby the patentee agrees to reduce the price and to offset excess revenues through a payment and/or additional price reductions; or a public hearing to determine whether the price is excessive.
- If the Board finds, as the result of a public hearing, that the price of a patented drug is excessive, the Board may issue a remedial order to the patentee.
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Media contact
Sofie McCoy-Astell
Manager, Communications
Patented Medicine Prices Review Board
613-960-9728
Sofie.McCoy-Astell@pmprb-cepmb.gc.ca