Members Lounge

Past Meetings

March 15, 2011
Key Challenges Facing the Canadian Pharmaceutical Industry

Russell Williams, President of Rx&D, spoke to a packed breakfast meeting on March 15th and was clearly delighted to be on home turf. The feeling was mutual as PMCQ guests welcomed the man who proudly served Nelligan riding in the National Assembly from 1989 through the 2004. Since then, of course, his focus and leadership skills have been devoted to making sure our industry’s concerns are clearly and strongly articulated in Ottawa and in the halls of power across the country.

Not surprisingly, given the shifting paradigm of bio-medical research and pharmaceutical commercialization set against intellectual property regimes in flux, he underlined the importance of the diligence and innovation we all have to bring to the table to make sure Canada retains a leadership role in the global industry.

While Canada remains a key player in the area of global clinical trials, the situation in terms of a widening innovation gap is cause for concern. Canada’s intellectual property framework may be better than some, but we’re not at the top of the class. That’s cause for concern as Canada pursues a Canadian-European Trade Agreement.

He also reminded the audience of our need to do a better job in building new relationships with health care providers and academia in an ethically sound environment.

For a fuller look at Rx&D’s view of where we stand and where we are headed, click here.