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Joel Lexchin

Professor Emeritus of Health Policy and Management, York University, Emergency Physician at University Health Network, Associate Professor of Family and Community Medicine, University of Toronto

Dr. Lexchin has been writing and publishing about pharmaceutical policy issues for the past 30 years. He is the author or co-author of over 140 peer-reviewed papers on a wide range of topics in this area, including: drug regulation, pharmacosurveillance, drug promotion, research and development, access to medications in developing countries and physician prescribing behaviour. He has been a consultant on these and other issues to the Ontario provincial government, various parts of the Canadian federal government, the government of New Zealand, the Australian National Prescribing Service and the World Health Organization.

High drug prices in Canada are just one side of a bad equation

Jul 18, 2023 07:59 am UTC| Insights & Views

The Canadian health-care system is under pressure as service levels decline while costs escalate. Drugs are one of our largest health-care expenditures. A federal agency, the Patented Medicine Prices Review Board (PMPRB),...

Opioid marketing to Canadian doctors hyped benefits, downplayed harms

Mar 10, 2020 11:54 am UTC| Health

Between January 2016 and June 2019 there were over 13,900 deaths from opioid overdoses in Canada, 4,500 of which occurred in 2018. Based on information to date, 2019 is likely to have a similar mortality rate. Most deaths...

Leave the patchwork to the quilts: The case for pharmacare

Aug 26, 2019 04:23 am UTC| Insights & Views Health

On August 15, 2019, more than 1,200 academics, including me, with expertise in health care signed a letter to the leaders of Canadas federal political parties. The letter called on them to commit to a national pharmacare...

Health Canada and Big Pharma: Too close for comfort

Aug 15, 2019 17:54 pm UTC| Insights & Views Business

Over the past few decades its become common practice for drug companies and drug regulators, such as Health Canada, to sit down together at what are called pre-submission meetings. These are get-togethers where both...

Why Big Pharma must disclose payments to patient groups

Jan 14, 2019 10:58 am UTC| Insights & Views Health Business Law

A United States congressional report revealed last year that five opioid manufacturers made more than $10 million in payments to patient advocacy groups and professional societies between 2012 and 2017. Initiatives from...

We need answers to the thalidomide tragedy – to ensure drug safety today

Oct 28, 2018 13:25 pm UTC| Insights & Views Health

In 2015, after decades of fruitless lobbying, Canadian survivors of thalidomide finally received compensation from the federal government. The drug was a supposedly mild sleeping pill, a wonder drug that helped pregnant...

NAFTA negotiations may threaten pharmacare

Sep 10, 2018 13:50 pm UTC| Insights & Views Health

Around 91 per cent of Canadians want a national pharmacare plan, according to a recent national poll, so they dont have to choose between buying groceries or paying for drugs to keep them healthy. The same public...

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Economy

Asian Currencies Hold Steady Amid U.S.-Iran Ceasefire Hopes and Soft U.S. Inflation Data

Asian currencies traded within a narrow range on Wednesday as investors awaited further developments in U.S.-Iran ceasefire negotiations, while softer-than-expected U.S. inflation data offered modest relief to markets. The...

Gold Prices Ease From One-Month High Amid Iran Ceasefire Uncertainty

Gold prices slipped slightly from a one-month peak during Asian trading on Wednesday, with investors closely watching developments between the United States and Iran as a fragile ceasefire deadline approaches next week....

Strait of Hormuz Oil Shipments Resume Amid U.S.-Iran War Tensions

Global energy markets remain on edge as the U.S. blockade on Iranian ports continues to disrupt shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, a critical chokepoint that normally handles roughly one-fifth of worldwide oil and gas...

Asian Stocks Rally on Tech Gains and U.S.-Iran Diplomacy Hopes

Asian equity markets extended their winning streak on Wednesday, buoyed by strong performances in technology stocks and growing optimism surrounding potential U.S.-Iran diplomatic talks. The positive momentum followed a...

Iran War Drives Asia's Plastic Crisis — and a Green Packaging Boom

The ongoing Iran conflict is reshaping the global packaging industry in ways environmental advocates never anticipated. By disrupting Middle Eastern oil and petrochemical supplies, the war has driven plastic prices to...

Politics

Federal Agencies Secretly Test Anthropic's AI Despite Trump Administration Ban

Despite a formal directive from President Donald Trump ordering federal agencies to stop using Anthropics artificial intelligence technology, multiple U.S. government bodies have been quietly evaluating the companys latest...

Iran's Secret Use of Chinese Spy Satellite to Target U.S. Military Bases Revealed

A explosive new report from the Financial Times has uncovered that Iran covertly leveraged a Chinese spy satellite during a recent regional conflict, granting the Islamic Republic an unprecedented ability to surveil and...

Trump Warns Against Iranian Nuclear Weapons, Criticizes Pope Leo

President Donald Trump renewed his sharp criticism of Pope Leo on Tuesday, taking to his Truth Social platform to issue a stern warning about Irans nuclear ambitions while highlighting what he described as a severe human...

Japan Opens Arms Export Floodgates: New Policy Draws Global Defense Interest

Japan is preparing to significantly loosen its arms export restrictions, and allies from Europe to Southeast Asia are already lining up. Prime Minister Sanae Takaichis ruling party has approved the sweeping policy changes,...

U.S. Blockade on Iran Tightens Amid Ceasefire Uncertainty

United States military forces have fully enacted a naval blockade against Iran, halting all sea-based economic trade flowing in and out of the country, according to a statement released Tuesday by U.S. Central Command. The...

Science

China vs. NASA: The New Moon Race and What's at Stake by 2030

The space race is back and this time, its a direct competition between the United States and China for dominance on the lunar surface. NASAs Artemis II mission recently made history when four astronauts flew farther into...

NASA Artemis II: First Crewed Moon Mission Since Apollo Takes Four Astronauts on 10-Day Lunar Journey

NASAs Artemis II mission launched Wednesday, marking humanitys return to crewed lunar exploration for the first time since the Apollo era. Carrying four astronauts aboard the Orion spacecraft, this historic 10-day mission...

NASA's Artemis II Mission: First Crewed Lunar Journey Since Apollo

NASA's Artemis II Crew Arrives in Florida for Historic Moon Mission

The four astronauts chosen for NASAs Artemis II mission have touched down at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, marking the beginning of final launch preparations for the first crewed lunar journey in over 50 years. NASA...

SpaceX Pivots Toward Moon City as Musk Reframes Long-Term Space Vision

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has revealed a significant shift in the companys near-term space exploration strategy, announcing that SpaceX is now prioritizing the development of a self-growing city on the Moon rather than focusing...

Technology

ASML Raises 2026 Revenue Outlook as AI Chip Demand Surges

ASML Holding N.V. lifted its full-year 2026 revenue forecast after the Dutch semiconductor equipment giant surpassed first-quarter profit and sales expectations. The results were fueled by accelerating AI-driven chip...

KKR's $820M Investment Fuels Samsung SDS AI Expansion, Sending Group Shares Soaring

Samsung Group stocks rallied sharply on Wednesday following KKRs announcement of a major strategic partnership with Samsung SDS, reigniting investor confidence in the conglomerates artificial intelligence and digital...

DEEPX Partners with Hyundai to Power Next-Gen AI Robots Ahead of IPO

South Korean AI chip startup DEEPX is deepening its collaboration with Hyundai Motor Group to build a cutting-edge computing platform for generative AI-powered robots. The initiative will be driven by the companys upcoming...

Anthropic Nears $800 Billion Valuation as Investor Confidence Surges

Anthropic, the artificial intelligence startup behind the Claude AI assistant, is reportedly fielding investment offers that could value the company at up to $800 billion. According to Business Insider, multiple venture...

SK Hynix Shares Hit Record High Amid AI Memory Demand Surge

SK Hynix shares soared to an all-time high on Tuesday, riding a wave of renewed investor confidence in artificial intelligence infrastructure and fresh momentum from developments tied to fellow memory chipmaker SanDisk....