PHA Canada at The Inside Affair
On October 22, Kim and I were invited to attend the 15th anniversary of the Gastrointestinal Society’s annual fundraising gala/dinner, which also celebrated their 50th anniversary as an organization. I know what you’re thinking – why on earth would we, an organization that represents patients with lung-related diseases, be invited to an event that represents patients with digestive-tract diseases? And why would we even want to attend?
This is where community engagement and advocacy come in. Over the past several years, PHA Canada has been developing relationships with both national and provincial patient-led organizations as a means to increase awareness of pulmonary hypertension; to ensure that we are aware of and can respond to changes in the drug regulatory, approval and pricing spaces, and, in some instances, to get a seat at the table where important conversations are had.
This evening represented a seat at the table, both literally and figuratively.
There’s very little mention of it in the media, but the Trump Administration is upending the global pharmaceutical industry by enacting something called Most Favoured Nation (MFN). Because this policy is expected to negatively affect drug access in Canada, the federal government created the Pharmaceutical and Life Sciences Sector Task Force earlier this year to provide recommendations on how Canada should respond. Patient organizations were not invited onto the Task Force.
But because we were invited to this fundraising dinner, Kim and I got to hear from three Very Important People who were part of the Task Force; Michelle Boudreau, the co-chair; Suzanne McGurn, the President and CEO of Canada’s Drug Agency and Arima Ventin, Head of Market Access and Government Affairs, AbbVie Canada about their perspectives of both the process and the 39 recommendations that were produced.
It was also a great opportunity to network with other invitees and to get their perspectives on this very important topic.
AND, Kim was also invited to attend a half-day event the next morning for a select number of patient organizations to discuss the potential role of patient organizations in future MFN discussions.
It was a very enlightening evening (and morning, for Kim) and we are grateful to have been invited. And that is why a lung-related disease organization attended a fundraiser for an organization that focuses on the digestive tract.
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