CPI-Adjustment Factors for 2004
The Patent Act specifies the factors to be used by the PMPRB in determining whether the price of a patented drug product sold in Canada is excessive. One of these factors is the Consumer Price Index (CPI). The Excessive Price Guidelines limit price increases to changes in the CPI over a three-year period.
To allow patentees to set prices in advance, the Board's CPI-Adjustment Methodology provides for the calculation of the CPI-Adjustment factors based on forecast changes in the CPI. The Board informs patentees on an annual basis of the CPI-adjustment factors for future pricing periods.
The CPI-adjustment factors for 2004 follow:
2004 CPI-Adjustment Factors for All Patented Drug Products (CPI 1992=100)
Benchmark Year
|
(1)
2001 |
(2)
2002 |
(3)
2003 |
| Base-CPI |
116.41 |
119.03 |
n/a |
| 2004 Forecast CPI |
124.57 |
124.57 |
124.57 |
| 2004 CPI-Adjustment Factor |
1.070 |
1.047 |
1.022 |
See the Compendium of Guidelines, Policies and Procedures, Chapter 1, EPG: 6 and Schedule 4. The Compendium is also available under Legislation, Regulations and Guidelines.
The Base CPI is the average of the monthly CPI figures, as published by Statistics Canada, for the benchmark year.
The 2004 Forecast CPI is 124.57 (1992=100) and is based on the actual CPI figures for 2002 (119.03), as published by Statistics Canada, and the latest available inflation projections (2.4% for 2003 and 2.2% for 2004) from the federal Department of Finance.
For additional information, patentees can also contact the compliance officer assigned to their company.