Drug shortages are a persistent problem in Canada and around the world. They interfere with patients’ ability to consistently take medication to manage chronic diseases. And they disrupt urgent care as critical drugs like epinephrine and propofol face shortages.

The COVID-19 pandemic led to concerns that the pandemic would exacerbate existing issues with drug shortages in Canada. Canadian policy-makers responded with several important measures in March 2020 in an attempt to ensure a steady supply of medication.

On this episode, Mina Tadrous discusses the impact of those measures as well as the ongoing challenges to Canada’s supply of pharmaceuticals. Mina Tadrous is coauthor of the paper, “COVID-19 in the prevalence of drug shortages in Canada,” published in CMAJ. He's an assistant professor at the University of Toronto.

Drs. Bigham and Omole also speak with Andrew MacIsaac about the role Canadian manufacturing can play in easing the problem of drug shortages. Andrew Maclsaac is the CEO of Applied Pharmaceutical Innovation, or API. API is partnered with University of Alberta to create the Canadian Critical Drug Initiative. One of its goals is to make Canada less vulnerable to drug shortages.

Links:

COVID-19 in the prevalence of drug shortages in Canada

Canadian Critical Drug Initiative

Applied Pharmaceutical Innovation

CMAJ

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Fixing the problem of drug shortages in Canada

CMAJ Podcasts

Fixing the problem of drug shortages in Canada