On November 27, 2020, the Minister of Health (the Minister) issued the Interim Order Respecting Drug Shortages (Safeguarding the Drug Supply) (the Interim Order), pursuant to s. 30.1(1) of the Food and Drugs Act. Summary The current Interim Order is a response to international frameworks which allow for bulk importation of drugs from Canada, which the Minister believes could cause Canadian drug shortages. For example, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) published a rule…

The Federal Court of Appeal has upheld the first trial judgment under the new Patented Medicines (Notice of Compliance) Regulations. In Amgen Inc v Pfizer Canada ULC, 2020 FCA 188, the Court dismissed Amgen’s appeal from the Federal Court’s decision declaring certain claims in Amgen’s Canadian Patent No. 1,341,537 (537 Patent) invalid for obviousness. The action related to Pfizer’s filgrastim biosimilar drug. Appeal decision The Court of Appeal found that the Trial Judge applied…

On October 29, 2020, the Federal Court ordered the Minister of Health to immediately issue a notice of compliance (NOC) for a biosimilar drug following a dispute about the effective date of a consent letter under the Patented Medicines (Notice of Compliance) Regulations (the Regulations). The Court held the Minister acted unreasonably in refusing to issue the NOC given the nature of the consent provided. Background Fresenius Kabi Canada Ltd. (Fresenius Kabi) seeks to market…

The 14 year perindopril litigation in Canada is over, with Adir and Servier Canada Inc. (collectively “Servier”) emerging victorious against Apotex Inc. and Apotex Pharmachem Inc. (collectively “Apotex”). The end was marked by the Supreme Court of Canada’s dismissal of Apotex’s application for leave to appeal a decision requiring it to disgorge its profits associated with infringement of Servier’s patent. Judith Robinson and Joanne Chriqui of Norton Rose Fulbright Canada are proud to have successfully…

On October 22, 2020, the Federal Court (FC) issued new Case and Trial Management Guidelines for Complex Proceedings (the FC Guidelines). These new consolidated FC Guidelines address many of the topics raised in the following earlier FC Notices to the Profession: Case management: Increased Proportionality in Complex Litigation before the Federal Court (June 24, 2015); Trial Management Guidelines (April 2017); Intellectual Property (experimental testing) (May 12, 2016); and Guidelines for Actions under the Amended PMNOC …

Regulatory amendments to the Food and Drug Regulations (FDR) and the Natural Health Products Regulations (NHPR) were published in Canada Gazette (Part II) on October 14, 2020. We previously reported on these changes, which seek to reduce the administrative burden associated with the Special Access Program (SAP) (for human drugs) and the Emergency Drug Release (EDR) (for drugs for veterinary use). To recap, previously a practitioner requesting a drug under the SAP was required to…

On Friday, October 23, the Patented Medicine Prices Review Board (PMPRB) released final Guidelines that are intended to take effect on January 1, 2021, together with the scheduled coming-into-force of amendments to the Patented Medicines Regulations (the Amendments). According to the PMPRB: The Guidelines provide information on the PMPRB’s general approach to the price review process and investigations. They supersede all previous guidance documents, policy communiqués and written or verbal statements of any kind by…