Data from the Canadian Community Health Survey 2000-01 reveals that nearly 4 million Canadians report being diagnosed with arthritis/rheumatism. Canadians with arthritis have much higher health service utilization that those without. In fact, nearly half of Canadians with arthritis/rheumatism report visiting a doctor five or more times during the past year and arthritis/rheumatism patients are twice as likely as those without these conditions to have had least one overnight stay in a hospital or nursing home during the past year.

In order to boost the competitiveness of the European-based pharmaceutical industry “in line with the European Union’s health objectives”, the European commission announced plans that include:

• Examining the scope “for improving delays generated by pricing and reimbursement decisions”
• “Improving patient information, strengthening the role of patients in public health decision-making”
• ”Establishing a level playing field on intellectual property protection and providing support to new Member States to implement the legislative framework”

Before a new drug is approved for use by patients, it must undergo rigorous testing and then be reviewed by regulatory agencies (Health Canada). In Canada, the review process for new drugs is much longer than in other developed countries. The result is that Canadian patients wait significantly longer than patients in other countries for access to new medicines.

As Canada’s population continues to age, medical innovation will play an essential role in helping to contain overall health costs. Medical innovation takes many forms: new surgical procedures, new drugs, better knowledge about illness and disease that leads to healthier lifestyle choices. All of these innovations have a profound effect on improving health outcomes and shifting the costs of healthcare from more costly inpatient services to more cost-effective outpatient services.

During the past decade, the evolution of pharmaceutical innovation has resulted in the development of a number of treatments for depression. A class of drugs, known as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), have become the dominant depression treatment. Thanks to incremental advancements in pharmaceutical innovation, a number of drugs within this therapeutic class are available, each with distinct properties.