The Ministerial Reliance Order: Benefits
Health Canada is committed to increasing the number of drugs in Canada that will benefit people and animals.
The Ministerial Reliance Order (the Order) will help us do this by allowing us to reduce the time it takes to review and approve a submission for a drug. As a result, we will be able to focus our expertise on higher risk and more complex submissions.
The Order is intended to:
- encourage manufacturers to bring certain drugs into Canada
- encourage manufacturers to file submissions in Canada earlier for certain drugs
- increase international collaboration by expanding the use of documents and decisions from comparable foreign regulatory authorities (FRAs)
- help us refocus our resources to address the increasing volume and complexity of drug submissions
Possible benefits for people in Canada may be:
- faster access to more drugs
- more drugs available to them
- drugs already available in Canada could be expanded for use in new patient populations
Use of the Order also helps to support the government's Pediatric Drug Action Plan. It may encourage manufacturers to file submissions for needed medicines and in age-appropriate formulations for children and youth.
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Pet owners, food animal producers and farmers may have:
- faster access to drugs for animals
- access to more treatment options, with less need to use compounded drugs