Canadian Generic Pharmaceutical Association

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Canadian Generic Pharmaceutical Association

Representing manufacturers and distributors of finished generic pharmaceutical products, manufacturers and distributors of active pharmaceutical chemicals.

The CGPA represents the Canadian-based generic pharmaceutical industry: a dynamic group of companies which specialize in the production of high quality, affordable generic drugs, fine chemicals and new chemical entities.

06/04/2026

Did you know that Canadians fill an average of 1.82 million prescriptions every day using generic and biosimilar medicines?

That means, each and every day, millions of patients receive safe, effective, high-quality treatments while helping keep healthcare costs under control.

In fact, generic and biosimilar medicines form the backbone of Canada's healthcare system, delivering the vast majority of prescriptions while accounting for only a fraction of overall drug spending.

Every prescription filled with a generic or biosimilar medicine helps patients access the treatments they need while making our healthcare system more affordable and sustainable for the future.

That's the value of competition. That's the value of generics and biosimilars.

05/29/2026

Generic medicines can only help Canadians if the companies that make them can afford to keep making them.

Canada’s tiered pricing framework, negotiated through the pCPA, keeps generic drugs far less expensive than brand-name alternatives, saving public plans and patients billions every year.

But those prices also need to be sustainable.

When prices are pushed below the real cost of development, manufacturing and compliance, it becomes harder for generic manufacturers to stay in the market, invest in supply or introduce new lower-cost options.

That ultimately means fewer competitors, less resilience and higher long-term costs for the health-care system.

Keeping prices both affordable and sustainable ensures Canadians continue to benefit from robust competition, reliable supply and the best value for every health-care dollar.

Because in order for Canadians to access lower-cost medicines, Canada needs a strong, viable generic industry to produce them.

05/22/2026

The Carney government wants to cut operational spending by 15% by 2029, a laudable goal to rein in federal expenses.

But, paradoxically, one of the best ways to save Canadian taxpayers millions of dollars may actually be to give Health Canada more resources.

Before a generic medicine can be sold in Canada, Health Canada has to review and approve it.

But because of chronic underfunding of review staff, that review process keeps taking longer and longer, which means patients, employers and public drug plans keep paying higher brand-name prices longer than necessary.

05/13/2026

Last week, CGPA President Jim Keon was pleased to welcome members of Mexico's generic pharmaceuticals industry to Toronto for a fruitful and productive discussion.

Representatives of AMALEF (the Asociación Mexicana De Laboratorios Farmacéuticos) and the Mexico City-based company Neolpharma met with Jim to discuss the important role generic medicines play in improving patient access and healthcare sustainability across North America.

Each party shared their perspectives on the Canadian and Mexican generic pharmaceutical landscapes, industry trends shaping the sector and opportunities for continued collaboration and strategic alignment.

Thank you to Astrea Ocampo and Diego Ocampo for taking the time to meet with CGPA.

CGPA appreciates the opportunity to strengthen relationships with international partners committed to improving access to affordable medicines for patients.

05/06/2026

CGPA is pleased to announce the election of Martin Ares, President of Apotex Canada and Rest of World, as Vice-Chair.

With more than 25 years of global leadership experience, Martin is an accomplished healthcare executive whose career spans pharmaceuticals, biosimilars, generics, and medical devices in organizations across North America and Europe.

Congratulations, Martin! We appreciate your leadership at this critical time for Canada’s generic medicines sector.

05/01/2026

The Canadian Generic Pharmaceutical Association is proud to join the 450+ Members of the U.S. Pharmacopeia Convention.

Participation in the USP Convention provides a platform to share our insights and support USP's mission to improve health through public standards that support the quality of medicines, supplements, and food ingredients worldwide.

We are excited for the opportunity to bring our perspective to these global discussions and collaborate with others working to strengthen confidence in the products people rely on every day.

View the full list of recently announced USP Convention Members: https://www.usp.org/news/usp-convention-welcomes-new-members

04/24/2026

If a safe, effective generic pharmaceutical becomes available for a fraction of the price of the brand name version, why doesn’t uptake happen automatically?
Because the current system makes it harder than you’d think.

When market exclusivity ends and a complex generic becomes available, you might expect drug plans to shift quickly to reimburse it. But in most cases, brand-name products remain listed as benefits alongside generics.

After years of established prescribing patterns, the brand often continues to be dispensed, even when a generic alternative is available.
This ultimately weakens the financial incentive for manufacturers to launch future generics in Canada, reducing competition and threatening long-term savings.

Fortunately, there’s a practical way to increase uptake of complex generics, and we’ve already seen it work. Biosimilar switching policies have helped deliver meaningful savings for public drug plans while maintaining patient access, and a similar approach could apply here.

Delisting brand-name versions as benefits upon prescription renewal would allow complex generics to compete more effectively.

04/15/2026

Thank you to Adam Rambert of Apotex and Brigitte Richard of Sandoz for serving as chair and vice-chair, respectively, of CGPA's Legal Affairs Committee.

Supporting the CGPA on legal aspects of all its files, the Legal Affairs Committee reviews, monitors and engages in emerging legal issues of concern to the generic and biosimilar medicines industries, including areas of a compliance nature, such as the CGPA Code of Marketing Conduct and competition and privacy law obligations.

Thank you to Adam, Brigitte and the committee for your excellent work!

04/08/2026

The CGPA would like to thank Kevin Zive of Apotex Inc. and Glenn Ikeda of NATCO Pharma Canada for serving as chair and vice-chair, respectively, of the IP Committee.

Advising CGPA on issues related to Canada’s intellectual property regime for pharmaceuticals and biologics, the IP Committee's role is to maintain an internationally competitive intellectual property framework for the development, approval and sale of generic and biosimilar medicines.

Tasked with effectively balancing IP holder rights with the timely entry of new generic and biosimilar medicines for Canadian taxpayers, the Committee identifies trends, concerns and proposals regarding the operation and administration of Canada’s pharmaceutical IP regime.

It also supports CGPA’s interventions in any IP court cases that are of broad concern to the generic and biosimilar medicines industries.

Thank you again to Kevin, Glenn and the IP Committee for your great work and continued support.

04/02/2026

How affordable are generic medicines? In a lot of cases, they cost less than your daily double-double.

Take common cholesterol drugs like atorvastatin or rosuvastatin, for example.

A 30-day supply of the generic versions costs about $5 to $7 per month. Do the math, and that’s (significantly) less than the cost of ordering a medium coffee every day at your favourite coffee shop chain.

With prices like that, it’s no wonder that generic medicines save Canada’s healthcare system billions of dollars annually.

But generic medicines can only help Canadians if the companies that make them can afford to keep making them.

That’s why we need smart policy to protect both affordability, and long-term supply.

Address

4100 Yonge Street, Suite 501
Toronto, ON
M2P2B5

Telephone

+14162232333

Website

http://www.canadiangenerics.ca/

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