Patient Evidence Submissions
At Asthma Canada, we feel it is imperative that Canadians living with asthma have access to multiple treatments to manage their disease, and the ability to choose which medications work best for them. To improve drug access for all Canadians living with asthma, we routinely submit input from the asthma community to Health Canada’s drug review body, The Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health (CADTH).
Asthma Canada helps Canadians living with asthma advocate for equitable and timely access to prescription medications. When a drug is up for review in Canada, the federal government allows patient organizations like Asthma Canada to make submissions on behalf of a group of patients.
The Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health (CADTH) regularly conducts evaluations to understand the impact that diseases like asthma and their treatments have on the quality of life of patients and their caregivers. Asthma Canada routinely submits accounts from the asthma community and our Asthma Canada Member Alliance to CADTH and other review processes. With input from our community, we are able to clearly articulate to CADTH that Canadians living with asthma need more treatment choices — as not everyone is able to find medication that works for them, yet.
Our submissions bring the lived experiences of asthma to the forefront of the drug review process. We convey the reality of nearly four million Canadians living with asthma to CADTH: how living with asthma impacts day-to-day lives and whether current medications are working. Our goal is to help decision makers understand the weight of a chronic disease like asthma and the importance of improved access to prescription medications.
Asthma Canada does not endorse any specific medications and treatments through the filing of Patient Evidence Submissions. Asthma Canada participates in the patient input opportunities to ensure that the Canadian asthma community has equitable access to medications that have received Notice of Compliance from Health Canada. Asthma Canada believes that choice of treatment should be decided between patient and prescriber based on best health outcomes.
Some of our past Patient Evidence Submissions include:
- Tezepelumab (Tezspire) as an add-on maintenance treatment in adults and adolescents 12 years and older with severe asthma
- Mepolizumab (Nucala) for Severe chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps
- Dupilumab (Dupixent) (DRAFT) as an add-on maintenance treatment in patients aged 6 years and older with severe asthma with a type 2/eosinophilic phenotype or oral corticosteroid-dependent asthma
- Indacaterol acetate/mometasone furoate (Atectura Breezhaler) for Asthma, maintenance (adults, children 12 or older)
- Fluticasone propionate (Aermony RespiClick) for maintenance treatment of asthma as prophylactic therapy in patients 12 years of age and older
- Fluticasone propionate / salmeterol xinafoate (Arbesda RespiClick) for treatment of asthma in patients aged 12 years and older
- Benralizumab (Fasenra) for Asthma, severe eosinophilic
- Phleum pratense (Grastek) for moderate to severe seasonal Timothy and related grass pollen-induced allergic rhinitis
- Azelastine HCl and fluticasone propionate (Dymista) for seasonal allergic rhinitis and rhino-conjunctivitis
- Mepolizumab (Nucala) for Asthma, severe eosinophilic
- Omalizumab (Xolair) for Asthma, severe persistent
- Reslizumab (Cinqair) for Asthma, eosinophilic
Institut national d’excellence en santé et en services sociaux (INESSS) is Quebec’s review process to evaluate therapeutic value and cost effectiveness of drugs. There is a formal mechanism for input from individual patients and patient groups to contribute to requesting listing of a drug product on the public drug plan formulary in Québec. Asthma Canada participates in in this process via the Drug Evaluation: Questionnaire for Patient and Caregiver Associations and Groups.
Learn more about the drug approval and funding process in Canada.