Canada's new drug price rules pushed to next year

Canada's drug pricing agency said on Monday that new regulations aimed at lowering costs would come into force in January of next year instead of next month, after receiving extensive feedback on its proposed rules.

In August, Canada proposed the new regulations under patent protection despite heavy lobbying from drugmakers that stand to lose billions in revenue.

The new rules base Canadian drug prices on those from a group of countries with lower prices than the benchmark group currently used to set price ceilings and give regulators the power to review new medicines based on cost effectiveness.

The Patented Medicine Prices Review Board said Monday it would publish a new draft of the regulations later in June, which would be followed by a 30-day written consultation period.