Doug Sommerville of Teva Canada Elected Vice Chair
TORONTO, Feb. 27, 2017 /CNW/ - The Canadian Generic Pharmaceutical Association (CGPA) is pleased to announce the election of Mr. Larry MacGirr, Chief Operating Officer of Pharmascience, as Chair of CGPA, and Mr. Doug Sommerville, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Teva Canada, as Vice Chair of CGPA.
“It is an honour to be elected Chair of CGPA. I am proud of the key role our industry plays in ensuring the sustainability of drug benefit plans and the overall health-care system in Canada,” said Mr. MacGirr. “Over the next two years we will focus on working with patients, employers, governments and our partners in health-care sector to ensure our industry can make its full contribution to the Canadian health-care system and economy.”
Mr. MacGirr said a key component of this work will be the establishment of a predictable and sustainable pricing and regulatory regime in Canada. He noted that the National Generic Tiered Pricing Framework Agreement reached between CGPA and the pan-Canadian Pharmaceutical Alliance (pCPA) has provided approximately $1.6-billion in additional savings to Canada’s health-care system. Despite this success, this coordinated national approach is being jeopardized by the failure of some provinces to fully participate.
“In our view, a national approach that provides equal pricing to all Canadians is the best option for patients, payers and manufacturers,” said MacGirr. “A national approach also increases business certainty for our members, which allows us to make better decisions regarding our investments in Canada in product development, jobs and infrastructure.”
Mr. Sommerville added that, now that prices of generic prescription medicines have been dramatically reduced, the focus must switch to implementing changes that increase their use in Canada. It is estimated that every one percent increase in the use of generic prescription medicines, Canadians save an additional $434-million. In the United States, generics are dispensed to fill 89 percent of all prescriptions. If the use of generic medicine in Canada were equal to the U.S. levels, Canadians could save more $8-billion annually
“Many of the most widely prescribed generic drugs offer a massive 82 percent discount from the prices of the equivalent brand-name versions, but price doesn’t matter if they’re not being used,” said Mr. Sommerville. “We want to work with Canadians to implement strategies to increase the use of generic prescription medicines so that the saving provided by these lower prices can be fully realized.”
Mr. MacGirr has been with Pharmascience for the past six years. Prior to joining Pharmascience, he spent 17 years in the pharmaceutical over-the-counter and medical device businesses in the United States and Canada.
Mr. Sommerville joined Teva Canada Limited in April 2005 and was appointed Senior Vice President and Country General Manager in January 2014. Prior to joining Teva, Mr. Sommerville was Global Vice President, Infusion Systems with Baxter Healthcare International.
About the Canadian Generic Pharmaceutical Association
The Canadian Generic Pharmaceutical Association (CGPA) represents Canada’s generic pharmaceutical industry. The industry plays an important role in controlling health-care costs in Canada. Generic drugs are dispensed to fill 70% of all prescriptions but account for account for only 22% of the $26-billion Canadians spend annually on prescription medicines.
SOURCE Canadian Generic Pharmaceutical Association
