Reporting on the Total Annual Expenditures on Travel, Hospitality and Conferences for the Fiscal Year 2017-2018

Annual Report on Travel, Hospitality and Conference Expenditures
Patented Medicine Prices Review Board

As required by the Treasury Board Directive on Travel, Hospitality, Conference and Event Expenditures, this report provides information on travel, hospitality and conference expenditures for the Patented Medicine Prices Review Board (PMPRB) for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2018, except for information withheld under the Access to Information Act or the Privacy Act.

Travel, hospitality and conference expenditures incurred by a federal department or agency relate to activities that support the department or agency’s mandate and the government’s priorities.

The PMPRB’s travel, hospitality and conference expenditures support the delivery of the following core programs and services to Canadians:

• The PMPRB regulates the prices of patented medicines by setting non-excessive price ceilings and taking enforcement action before the Board in the event of non-compliance.
• The PMPRB is an independent, quasi-judicial body created by Parliament in 1987 under the Patent Act (Act). Its mandate is two-fold:

• Regulatory – to ensure that prices charged by patentees for patented medicines sold in Canada are not excessive; and
• Reporting – to report on pharmaceutical trends of all medicines and on research and development spending by pharmaceutical patentees.

• In carrying out its mandate, the PMPRB endeavors to ensure that Canadians are protected from excessive prices for patented medicines sold in Canada, and stakeholders are informed on pharmaceutical trends.

Significant variances compared with previous fiscal year

Travel: compared with fiscal year 2016-17, departmental travel expenditures decreased mainly due to a decrease in litigation-related travel costs for public hearings.