Letter to Provincial Ministers of Health

CAPA believes that medications approved by Health Canada should be available to Canadians who require their use. In an effort to expedite the addition of two new biologics to provincial formularies - a necessary step to gaining access to these drugs - CAPA teamed up with Arthritis Consumer Experts (ACE) to send a letter to the Minister of Health of each province. It was signed by the CAPA Steering Committee member(s) living in the province or by the CAPA President for provinces without a resident Steering Committee member, and by the President of ACE. The Arthritis Society divisions were also invited to participate, however only the BC TAS division accepted. The letter follows.

Sent via email Original mailed

March 20, 2007

Hon. [Minister of Health]

[Address]
[City], [Province] CANADA [Postal Code]

Dear Minister [Name]

Thank you for responding to our December 18, 2006 letter in which we requested the [Province] Drug Plan and Extended Benefits Branch to expedite its review of the drugs abatacept (Orencia®) and rituximab (Rituxan®) for the treatment of moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis.

In an effort to work with government and keep you informed of emerging/new effective medications deemed important by our community in the treatment of arthritis, we write again to bring your attention to the February 14, 2007 Canadian Expert Drug Advisory Committee’s (CEDAC) recommendation that rituximab be added (with special criteria) to Provincial formulary drug reimbursement lists.

In light of your comments on the value of the Common Drug Review process to [Province] drug formulary decision-making, we again ask that your department take the necessary steps to list rituximab on the drug reimbursement list in an expedited fashion. We remind you that this therapy is intended to treat [provincial residents] with moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis with an inadequate response to an anti-TNF agent. At present, no effective treatment options are available for these individuals. Delays in making this treatment available will increase the probability of unnecessary negative physical, emotional, and social consequences.

Arthritis Consumer Experts and the Canadian Arthritis Patient Alliance make this request on behalf of its community members affected by rheumatoid arthritis.

We thank you in advance for considering our request, and await word from you on the [Province] formulary listing decision for rituximab.

Sincerely,

Cheryl Koehn, President
Arthritis Consumer Experts
Person with rheumatoid arthritis

Anne Dooley, President
SK Steering Committee
Canadian Arthritis Patient Alliance
Person with rheumatoid arthritis