MARKET ACCESS FORUM

MARKET ACCESS FORUM
The Westin Toronto Airport Hotel
Sutton Meeting Room
950 Dixon Road, Toronto, ON, M9W 5N4
8:30 am Breakfast | 9:00 - 4:45 pm Sessions| 4:45 pm Cocktail Reception

Market Access Forum (MAF) delivers multifaceted insights into current issues, key topics and health care policy of paramount importance to the pharmaceutical industry and its various stakeholders. It provides attendees with context and insight to better understand the issues facing market access professionals.

AGENDA
As of September 18, 2025

8:30 am NETWORKING BREAKFAST

9:00 am
WELCOME & HOUSEKEEPING
Emcee: Andrew Retfalvi, Global Public Affairs

9:15 am  Innovative Pathways to Reimbursement – Canada’s Drug Agency Update
Matthew McDonald, Canada’s Drug Agency

This talk will provide an overview of recent innovations at Canada’s Drug Agency. Key topics will include the Target Zero initiative, which focuses on accelerating time to access; the use of rolling reviews to integrate evidence dynamically as it becomes available; recent updates to time-limited reimbursement recommendations that balance early access with ongoing evidence generation; and the Formulary Management Expert Committee to strengthen our lifecycle approach to HTA and formulary management. Together, these pathways illustrate how our HTA processes are evolving to algin with a rapidly expanding and complex drug landscape.

10:00 am  INESSS & Santé Québec Update & Overview
The panel will discuss the current state of affairs within the Quebec healthcare system and the potential impact on access to new pharmacologic therapies

Panelists: Melanie Caron, INESSS
Patrick Manfred, TACT Intelligence-Conseil
Moderator: Michael Sung, Cencora Innomar Strategies

10:45 am MORNING NETWORKING BREAK

11:15 am In Conversation with Leading Former Payers Federal-Provincial Collaboration in Market Access & Pathways

Panelists:
Chad Mitchell, former Assistant Deputy Minister (ADM) for the Pharmaceutical and Supplementary Benefits Division, Alberta Health, and former Vice-Chair of the pan-Canadian Pharmaceutical Alliance (pCPA), and is Board Member of the Canadian Agency for Drugs

Patricia (Trish) Caetano, former Executive Director of the Manitoba Drug Programs and former Director of Data Services and Analytics, Canada's Drug Agency 
Moderator: Sang Mi Lee, MORSE Consulting

12:15 pm LUNCH & NETWORKING

1:30 pm Evolving Landscape of Private Payers Roundtable
In this session, the panel will discuss current status and updates on private payer negotiations and PLAs

• How does risk management and cost containment approaches differ for private payer negotiations vs. for public? How do they differ between different drug classes (e.g., DRDs, low per patient costs but high-volume drugs, etc.)?
• Any impact from consideration of pharmacare & coordination of benefits?
• What will be the most notable trends/ changes as we move forward to 2027 and beyond?

Bobby Currie, Manulife
Marie-Hélène Dugal, Medavie Blue Cross
Moderator: Shanta Zurock, Cencora Innomar Strategies

2:15 pm   The Evolving and Growing Role of Stakeholders Across the Reimbursement Landscape
Patient and clinician stakeholders play critical roles in our health systems by providing their real-world and lived experiences. In recent years, we have seen different parts of our health systems evolve to better reflect and incorporate this experience, ranging from regulatory approvals through to health technology assessments and reimbursement negotiations.

The panel will:

• Share their perspectives on how our system is improving,
• Provide examples of what change has meant for their community
• Discuss what still needs to be done to better reflect the patient and clinician voices.

Panelists:
Dr. Paul Gibson, Pediatric Oncology Group of Ontario (POGO)
Jida El Hajjar, Loeys-Dietz Syndrome Foundation Canada
Kimberley (Kim) Hanson, HealthPartners
Moderator: Ryan Clarke LLB,  Noviscend Inc.

3:00 pm AFTERNOON NETWORKING BREAK

3:45 pm  Unpacking Time to Patient Access for Complex Innovations
The timeline from Health Technology Assessment (HTA) to product listing agreements (PLAs) has shown consistent improvement. Accelerated pathways are now available through HTA and pCPA, such as Time-Limited Reimbursement (TLR) and the pCPA Temporary Access Process (pTAP).  In certain cases, negotiations have begun with zero days of delay or opened and closed in zero days.

Despite these advances, some obstacles remain in ensuring timely implementation after PLAs are finalized (e.g., for complex oncology treatments) and sometimes significantly protracted negotiation timelines for drugs for rare diseases (DRDs), including cell and gene therapies.

The panel  will share their perspectives on the current difficulties surrounding access and health system implementation for complex therapies. Their insights will help inform discussions on ways to further refine and improve existing processes moving forward.

Panelists:
Tyler Rogers, Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Inc.
Ivan Tyono, Sunnybrook Odette Cancer Centre
Rebecca Vieira, Vertex Pharmaceuticals
Simon Lee, Ontario Public Drug Programs Division
Matthew McDonald, Canada’s Drug Agency
Moderator: Sang Mi Lee, MORSE Consulting

4:45 pm  CONCLUSION & CLOSING REMARKS
Emcee: Andrew Retfalvi, Global Public Affairs

Followed by: Cocktail & Networking Reception
Unwind and connect with fellow attendees over drinks and light refreshments. This is a great opportunity to network and reflect on the day’s insights in a relaxed setting.

CAHR reserves the right to cancel or change speakers, content and date
without prior notice. We assume no liability for these changes.

CANCELLATION POLICY: For cancellations two (2) weeks or more in advance, delegates will receive a 75% refund. For cancellations made less than two (2) weeks in advance, no refunds are given. Delegate substitutions will be accepted at no cost.

Limited number of special discounts available to patient groups and students. Please contact the CAHR office to obtain a code.

THANK YOU TO ALL OUR SPONSORS

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