In nearly identical decisions released on May 27, 2014,
Sandoz Canada Inc v Canada, 2014 FC 501 (Sandoz) and
ratiopharm Inc v Canada, 2014 FC 502 (ratiopharm), the Federal
Court of Canada held that some licensees of patents relating to
medicines are not subject to the jurisdiction of the Patented
Medicines Prices Review Board (PMPRB or Board), including its
powers to regulate drug prices. These decisions, which may be
appealed to the Federal Court of Appeal, mark a retreat from the
courts' expansive views about the jurisdiction of the
PMPRB.
Background
The PMPRB is the quasi-judicial body established by Parliament
to monitor and control the price of patented medicines in Canada.
In 2008, it initiated a proceeding against ratiopharm, alleging
that it sold an authorized generic salbutamol drug product (ratio
HFA) at excessive prices. Separately, in 2010, the
PMPRB started a proceeding against Sandoz, a wholly-owned
subsidiary of a well-known pharmaceutical patentee
