Many of today’s comments come from stories written in response to, and following up on, Kelly Grant’s weekend investigation How a blockbuster drug tells the story of why Canada’s spending on prescriptions is sky high.
A technician demonstrates how Remicade would be administered at the Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto. Chris Donovan/The Globe and MailChris Donovan/The Globe and Mail
From Ontario to examine pharmaceutical firms' payments to doctors by Kelly Grant
Doctors would use the provincial funding code if it remotely came close to covering the cost of the infusion. This is a common problem which gets no attention. The province doesn’t want to appropriately fund the cost of medicine and deliberately under-reimburses for a number of services. They do so with the hope that either the doctor’s practice will cover the difference through other work or pharma (very few say no to patients in need and the province takes advantage of this). The province then feigns outrage about the greed in the system, when they created the circumstance in the first place. People need to start asking why the province isn’t providing the necessary services to cover necessary care. - Skeptical Man
From How pharma companies try to use funding to sway patient advocate groups by Kelly Grant
If one has RA as I do, it is horrifying to think that medication to treat it would be too cost prohibitive resulting in total disability and pain for me and many others. It sounds as if the biosimilars are just as good as the biologics but much cheaper. Let's hope it works as well until something better comes along to cure this disease. - Anne2301
From Hatred of Big Pharma won’t get us better drug prices by André Picard
I certainly don't hate big pharma. It has kept all three of my children from dying.
I find it kinda silly that those who have never even needed any medicines think this is a big cause to "hate", I have heard those comments in person. For them, it is similar to hating Starbucks for being successful. - NornIreland
If Big Pharma could actually step up to the plate and genuinely spearhead new incentives to advance healthcare and relieve strain on the system, some of us might rethink our perception of them as ruthless, opportunistic bottom feeders. - Globu
"After perusing that list, hating Big Pharma is easy." Not really, it's a business like any other in a competitive industry. Developing drugs is extremely risky and many projects and companies fail and investors lose everything. When they do get it right they have to recover the costs of all the other failed drugs and trials. I worked in the pharmaceutical field for a Canadian publicly listed company for 9 years and things weren't easy. The stock price declined for many years after promising products flopped and it was eventually bought out by an American company. I left the field because I wanted a career in a more stable industry. - WInnipeg Warrior
What else readers are talking about today:
Canada willing to freeze armoured vehicle exports to Saudi Arabia over alleged Khashoggi killing, Trudeau says by Steven Chase and Adrian Morrow
The Saudis have long been involved with terrorism both at home and abroad. This government needs to stop sitting on the fence. If the money we make from them is worth the suffering of millions of Yemenis and other human rights violations then just say so and get on with it. - Yukon Jacks
How can a Prime Minister who claims he is a feminist continue arming a dictatorship that harshly oppresses women? - TCampbell24
If Canada is so concerned about human rights, why does the government continue to allow imports of oil from Saudi Arabia, which helps finance human rights abuses and terrorism? We should be using Canadian oil instead. - daveeo1234
From the Comments designed to highlight interesting and thoughtful contributions from our readers. Some comments have been edited for clarity. Everyone can read the comments but only subscribers will be able to contribute. Thank you to everyone furthering debate across our site.