Health Canada approved an immunotherapy nearly three years ago, but it still isn’t available here

Chemotherapy daycare nurse Karly Sidak prepares for a session at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre in Toronto. Myeloma patients have started a campaign to call on politicians to restart pricing talks for Carvykti, a type of CAR-T therapy.

Nearly 1,000 Canadians with multiple myeloma and their caregivers have e-mailed elected officials asking that pricing talks resume for a cutting-edge immunotherapy that Health Canada approved nearly three years ago but which still isn’t available in this country.

The letter writers are pleading with the pan-Canadian Pharmaceutical Alliance, the organization that negotiates confidential discounts on drug prices on behalf of provinces and territories, to cut a deal for Carvykti, a bespoke, one-time-only infusion for the aggressive blood cancer.

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