Advocacy in Action: March 25
March 25, 2025
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What's happened
Ongoing, Health Canada Drug Shortages Meetings
Through participation at these meetings, CSHP has provided healthcare-systems pharmacy’s perspective on these acute drug shortages:
- Hypurin Insulin: Wockhardt UK, the sole global supplier of porcine insulin, is discontinuing its supply of porcine insulin products to the Canadian market. Health Canada is monitoring the remaining supply and is exploring ways to extend the availability of animal-sourced insulin with a UK-authorized supply expiring in May 2026. See Health Canada’s supply notice for more information. Additionally, in collaboration with Canadian Pharmacists Association (CPhA) and the Canadian Society of Endocrinology and Metabolism (CESM), CSHP has developed a new resource to help support pharmacists and health-care providers in managing this discontinuation.
- Peginterferon alfa-2a (Pegasys): Due to a critical Pegasys (peginterferon alfa-2a) injection shortage, Health Canada has authorized the temporary importation of US-approved BESREMi (ropeginterferon alfa-2b-njft) with English-only labels by FORUS Therapeutics Inc. While similar, BESERMi is not identical to Pegasys. This shortage may significantly impact patients who have been receiving interferon-based therapy for treating myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs) and is expected to last until the end of December 2025.
- How to support patients during this shortage:
- Do not initiate new patients on Pegasys.
- Do not order or dispense large quantities of Pegasys.
- For patients MPNs, consider alternative medication as per guidance from the Canadian MPN Network: Guidance on transition is available here.
- Cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL) patients and pregnant patients should not be switched to Besremi. Pegasys remains the preferred interferon in this population as per guidance from the Canadian MPN Network.
- If a patient cannot be switched to Besremi, it is crucial to optimize dosing by using the lowest effective dose as per the Canadian MPN network.
- Please note that there are differences in the Besremi and Pegasys syringe format. Besremi is only available in a single dose pre-filled syringe with a manual safety needle cap. Counselling patients when converting patients will be required.
- Additional Resources:
- Calcitonin (Calcimar): This product has been escalated to a Tier 3 shortage. Information on foreign authorized supply options is not yet available.
- Pegaspargase for injection (Oncaspar): Servier’s remaining Canadian-authorized supply is expected to run out imminently. Servier is working to secure additional quantities of US-Oncaspar to ensure coverage until the end of July 2025. Health Canada will retain Servier’s proposal for foreign-authorised lyophilized Oncaspar in case of future compliance issues. Servier has also sent the following letters requesting that starting April 1 all newly diagnosed pediatric and young adult patients, aged 1 to 21 years, be initiated on Asparlas:
What's happening
March 6, Health Canada consultation on Naloxone Kits
CSHP participated in Health Canada’s pharmacy sector consultation on naloxone kits exemption orders which addresses non-compliance issues related to packaging, labelling, and sale of kits by entities without a drug establishment license. CSHP provided input on the supply chain challenges, product authorizations, labelling, storage, transportation, and safety considerations.
March 19, U.S. Tariffs impact on Pharmaceuticals
CSHP met with the newly appointed Minister of Health Kamal Khera to discuss the impact of U.S. tariffs on pharmaceuticals in healthcare-systems pharmacy, underscoring the economic burden and risks to patient care.
Moreover, CSHP responded to the Department of Finance’s proposal to expand tariffed products, stressing the importance of keeping health products exempt.
March 20, Meeting on Health Product Shortages Regulations
CSHP met with Health Canada’s Health Product Shortages Directorate to provide a verbal report on its response to the draft regulations and guidance for health product shortages. CSHP reviewed the consultation and submitted feedback on March 8, 2025, addressing 14 of the 17 proposed amendments and new regulations.
To catch up on CSHP advocacy news, click here.
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