Erbitux was approved by Health Canada in September 2005. But owing to disagreement over the drug price with the Patented Medicine Prices Review Board (PMPRB), a quasi-judicial body that protects consumers by ensuring that the manufacturers’ prices of patented medicines are not excessive, Bristol-Myers Squibb refused to launch Erbitux in Canada.
According to Marc Osborne, director of public affairs and government relations for Bristol-Myers Squibb, the drug’s impact on patient survivability and the importance of the drug to Canadian drug market has motivated the company to settle for the drug price set by the PMPRB.
Erbitux is mainly used to treat colorectal cancer that has metastasized when other drugs have failed.