Prescribed drug spending in Canada, 2022

In 2021, public drug program spending on biologic drugs reached $4.4 billion, representing 29% of total public drug program spending. The uptake of biosimilars has been rising steadily: in 2019, 4.5% of biologic spending was on biosimilars; in 2020, 6.9% of biologic spending was on biosimilars; and in 2021, 8.9% of biologic spending was on biosimilars.
In 2021, public drug program spending on biologic drugs reached $4.4 billion, representing 29% of total public drug program spending. The uptake of biosimilars has been rising steadily: in 2019, 4.5% of biologic spending was on biosimilars; in 2020, 6.9% of biologic spending was on biosimilars; and in 2021, 8.9% of biologic spending was on biosimilars.

November 3, 2022 — Take an in-depth look at prescribed drug spending in Canada in 2021 and learn about how different drug classes contribute to current trends in total public drug program spending.

Key findings

  • Public drug programs spent $16.2 billion in 2021, a 7.4% increase from 2020 (the highest growth rate since 2018). 
  • Glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) analogues, a class of drugs for diabetes (+11.7%, $130 million), and drugs for retinal diseases (+10.1%, $112 million) were the top contributors to growth in spending. Hepatitis C drugs contributed the most to savings for the third consecutive year (-3.8%, $42 million).
  • 43.0% of public drug program spending was for the 2.5% of beneficiaries for whom a drug program paid $10,000 or more.  
  • Biologics accounted for $4.4 billion of public drug program spending (29.4% of total spending) and accounted for 2.3% of claims.
  • The breakdown of spending on biosimilar drugs versus reference biologic drugs varied widely by province, from 64% in British Columbia to 4% in Saskatchewan.
  • Tumour necrosis factor alpha inhibitors (anti-TNFs) were the top drug class in terms of total program spending for the 10th consecutive year ($1.2 billion, 7.4% of spending). However, there was a decrease in spending compared with 2020 due to increased prescribing of biosimilar drugs and the introduction of new biosimilar products.

Data tables and companion materials

Snapshot

Learn about key findings for public drug program spending on prescribed drugs in Canada.

View snapshot

Methodology notes

Get definitions, data sources, limitations and revisions to help you understand and interpret the snapshot summary and data tables.

View methodology notes (PDF)

Related resources

 

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