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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

New Zealand Budget 2026 Focuses on Fiscal Discipline and Infrastructure Investment

New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced that the government will maintain strict control over day-to-day spending in Budget 2026 while significantly increasing capital investment to strengthen the countrys...

OECD Sees Bank of Japan Raising Interest Rates to 2% by 2027

The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) expects the Bank of Japan (BOJ) to continue raising interest rates steadily, projecting the countrys short-term policy rate will climb to 2% by the end of...

US-China Trade Talks Begin in South Korea Ahead of Trump-Xi Beijing Summit

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent arrived in South Korea on Wednesday for high-level trade discussions with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng ahead of the much-anticipated summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and...

S&P Global Revises Mexico Credit Outlook to Negative Amid Rising Debt Concerns

SP Global Ratings revised Mexicos sovereign credit outlook to negative from stable while affirming the countrys BBB foreign currency and BBB+ local currency long-term credit ratings. The agency also maintained Mexicos A-2...

Trump and Xi Temple of Heaven Visit Highlights Trade and Diplomacy Goals

U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping are set to meet at Beijings historic Temple of Heaven, a symbolic location tied to Chinas imperial past and agricultural prosperity. The visit, scheduled during...

Politics

Trump Administration Appoints David Venturella as Acting ICE Director Amid Immigration Crackdown

The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump announced that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) official David Venturella will become the agencys new acting director following the departure of Todd Lyons at the...

Bahamas Election 2026: Prime Minister Philip Davis Secures Historic Second Term

Bahamian Prime Minister Philip Davis and the ruling Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) secured a decisive victory in the 2026 Bahamas general election, marking the first time in nearly three decades that a Bahamian leader has...

Tennessee Republicans Remove Democrats From Committees After Redistricting Protest

Tennessee House Speaker Cameron Sexton removed Democratic lawmakers from all committee and subcommittee assignments following protests over the states controversial congressional redistricting plan. The disciplinary action...

Russia Resumes Heavy Drone Attacks on Ukraine After Ceasefire Ends

Russian forces launched a new wave of attacks across Ukraines Dnipropetrovsk region on Tuesday, killing at least six people and injuring several others shortly after a temporary U.S.-mediated ceasefire expired. Ukrainian...

Mexico Denies CIA Role in Cartel Attacks Amid Rising U.S.-Mexico Tensions

Mexican authorities and the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency have strongly denied a CNN report claiming CIA operatives were directly involved in deadly operations against drug cartels in Mexico. The report, published...

Science

Trump Administration Releases New UFO Files and Apollo Mission Records

The U.S. Defense Department has released dozens of previously classified UFO-related files following an order from President Donald Trump, sparking renewed debate over unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP) and government...

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...

Technology

Samsung Shares Slide as Wage Talks Collapse, Raising Strike Fears

Samsung Electronics shares fell sharply on Wednesday after negotiations between the company and its largest labour union failed to produce a wage agreement, increasing concerns over a possible large-scale strike that could...

Arteris Stock Surges After Strong Q1 Earnings Beat and Higher 2026 Outlook

Arteris Inc. (NASDAQ: AIP) shares surged in after-hours trading on Tuesday after the semiconductor software company reported stronger-than-expected first-quarter 2026 earnings and raised its full-year revenue forecast. The...

Anthropic Eyes $300M Stainless Acquisition Amid Enterprise AI Expansion

Anthropic is reportedly in advanced discussions to acquire developer tools startup Stainless in a deal valued at more than $300 million, according to a report from The Information. The potential acquisition highlights the...

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang to Join Trump’s China Visit Amid AI Chip Tensions

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang is expected to join a group of top American business leaders accompanying U.S. President Donald Trump during his upcoming visit to China, according to two Reuters sources familiar with the matter....

Kuaishou Stock Jumps on Kling AI IPO Plans and $20 Billion Valuation

Kuaishou Technology (HK:1024) shares surged on Tuesday after reports revealed that the Chinese short-video giant is considering spinning off its Kling artificial intelligence video generation business. The news boosted...

Digital Currency