Peter Hardwick of Apotex Elected Chair of Canadian Generic Pharmaceutical Association

TORONTO, April 9, 2018 /CNW/ - The Canadian Generic Pharmaceutical Association (CGPA) is pleased to announce the unanimous election of Mr. Peter Hardwick, Chief Commercial Officer and Executive Vice President of Apotex, as Chair of CGPA.

Jean-Guy Goulet, Chief Operating Officer of Pharmascience, remains Vice Chair of CGPA and Michel Robidoux, President and General Manager of Sandoz Canada, continues as Chair of the Board of Biosimilars Canada.

"The generic pharmaceutical industry and our partners in the supply chain are facing significant challenges to our sustainability in Canada. Ensuring a stable, predictable market for our companies and the continued supply and introduction of cost-saving generic prescription medicines must remain our key focus," said Mr. Hardwick.

A key component of this work will be the successful implementation of the five-year initiative announced earlier this year between the pan-Canadian Pharmaceutical Alliance (pCPA) and CGPA, and the similar agreement reached with the Government of Quebec in July 2017.

"The recent agreements with pCPA and Quebec will provide billions of dollars in additional savings to Canada's health-care system," said Mr. Hardwick. "As these significant further price discounts come into effect, we must work with governments and payers to put in place the regulatory and market environment that will ensure the continued and future supply of cost-saving generic medicines."  

Mr. Hardwick added that, now that prices of generic prescription medicines have been dramatically reduced, the focus must switch to implementing changes that increase their use in Canada.

"Many of the most widely prescribed generic drugs offer a massive 90 percent discount from the prices of the equivalent brand-name versions, but price doesn't matter if they're not being used," said Mr. Hardwick. "We want to work with Canadians to implement strategies to increase the use of generic prescription medicines so that the savings provided by these lower prices can be fully realized."

Mr. Hardwick joined Apotex in 2006 as Director of Marketing Canada and took on expanded roles within the Canadian market where most recently he was the Senior Vice President, Commercial Operations Canada and Caribbean. He has more than 25 years of experience in both the brand-name and generic pharmaceutical industries.    

About the Canadian Generic Pharmaceutical Association

The Canadian Generic Pharmaceutical Association (CGPA) represents Canada's generic pharmaceutical industry. The industry plays an important role in controlling health-care costs in Canada. Generic drugs are dispensed to fill more than 70 percent of all prescriptions but account for only 22 percent of the $27.5-billion Canadians spend annually on prescription medicines.

SOURCE Canadian Generic Pharmaceutical Association

For further information: Jeff Connell, Vice President, Corporate Affairs, Canadian Generic Pharmaceutical Association (CGPA), Tel: [phone], Mobile: [phone], Email: [e-mail], Website: www.canadiangenerics.ca

Related Links

www.canadiangenerics.ca