The province of Prince Edward Island (PEI) has listed Radicava (edaravone) on the public formulary under Special Authorization as a treatment for ALS. With this announcement, all provinces and territories across Canada – as well as Veterans Affairs Canada and Indigenous Services Canada – are now covering Radicava through their public formularies. More than 3,600 Canadians helped make this possible by writing their provincial Health Ministers urging the province to make a quick decision in favour of covering the drug, and we are pleased that affordable access to Radicava is now available to all eligible Canadians regardless of where they live. You can read Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Canada, Inc. (MTP-CA)’s press release for more information.

While a positive step forward in access to ALS therapies, time is of the essence for the ALS community. The timeframe for all provinces to make a reimbursement decision was far too long. Radicava was approved by Health Canada in October 2018. It took over three years from Health Canada approval for all provinces to cover the therapy through their public drug plan. Every day counts for Canadian families living with the disease, which is why we want to see a streamlined process where ALS therapies get to Canadians in a timeframe that more accurately reflects the urgency faced by this community.

Our recently published position paper, The Time is Now, reflects on the experience with Radicava and explores the complexity of Canada’s drug access processes, proposing two solutions to get Health Canada approved therapies to Canadians living with ALS faster.

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