Shaw: B.C.’s rare-drug review still MIA one year later – Castanet.net
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Shaw: B.C.’s rare-drug review still MIA one year later
B.C.’s rare-drug reforms
Rob Shaw – Jul 11, 2026 / 11:00 am| Story: 624147
Photo: Via Jori Fales
Charleigh Pollock became the face of the debate over B.C.’s rare-drug funding process after the province initially denied coverage for medication later approved by Health Minister Josie Osborne.
The B.C. government has done nothing to change the way it handles rare drug approvals, one year after promising an overhaul to address a backlash in public confidence
Premier David Eby had said he’d craft a system that was more transparent, accountable and understandable for the public, after his government was harshly criticized for denying life-extending medication to Charleigh Pollock, a dying 10-year-old girl with a rare terminal brain disorder
Charleigh’s story provoked such a public outcry that it forced Health Minister Josie Osborne to overrule the doctors on the province’s Expensive Drugs for Rare Diseases committee—a secretive, unelected, anonymous, unaccountable body that refused to explain why it denied coverage for Charleigh’s medication
“The public was not served by the current structure that we have,” Eby said in late July 2025
“The current structure of a committee that doesn’t speak to the media, doesn’t speak to the public, makes decisions behind closed doors, only speaks to the treating physician, and even then only through the Ministry of Health, resulted in a scenario where it appeared as though what was happening was the exact opposite of what anybody wants: which is that politicians making decisions about access to medicines.”
The premier pledged “to find a path forward” on a new approvals system
One year later, and the New Democrat government is nowhere on the issue. No changes. No reforms. Not even the tiniest hint of progress
The Ministry of Health said it’s been studying the topic. But there is no information available on terms of reference, who is involved, a timeline, scope or any other types of basic details you’d expect from a serious government review
“We expect it will be completed this year,” the ministry said in a statement
I wouldn’t hold my breath on that one
“Our goal is to have a system that is more transparent and responsive, where patients and families feel supported and understand the process, and where committee members have the tools and re
In the meantime, the mysterious ways the B.C. government decides to reject rare drug funding continue to generate bad publicity and undermine public confidence
This week, a Castlegar father with rare, mutated stage-four colorectal cancer was denied coverage of a drug, despite his oncologist recommending it, Global BC reported. The drug costs $15,000 a month, but B.C. said it’s only approved for breast cancer and not colon cancer, and so the man would have to foot his own bill
Drug manufacturer Pfizer Inc. stepped in to cover the cost, but the family was left fuming at B.C.’s health system
In Courtenay, B.C., a 47-year-old woman with a rare and aggressive type of breast cancer—which has grown from six centimetres to six inches in just two months—had coverage for a $24,000 drug called Perjeta denied, despite it being a targeted medication prescribed by her oncologist as part of a treatment plan including chemotherapy, reported CHEK News
The woman was forced to turn to GoFundMe and the drug manufacturer’s assistance program, but was also critical of the government’s response
Last month, a nine-year-old boy with a rare brain disorder that can lead to lethal haemorrhaging was denied pioneering treatment in Germany, despite letters of support from his Canadian team of doctors, CTV reported
The boy’s single mother also turned to GoFundMe for help raising the money, and lambasted the province
Changes to the rare drug system wouldn’t necessarily help in all of those cases, it turns out
The health ministry said rare cancer drugs are actually not part of the Expensive Drugs for Rare Diseases committee the premier promised to reform. Those are handled by another secretive committee at BC Cancer, under the Provincial Health Services Authority
So even if the B.C. government does make changes to one part of the drug funding system, there will still be another part operating in the kind of information vacuum the premier says is unacceptable
That doesn’t make much sense
Then again, neither does 12 months on a hot-topic issue with no progress
Bottom line: a year after Charleigh Pollock, the government still can’t explain publicly or defend its decisions on how it funds rare drugs
That’s not what was promised at all
Rob Shaw has spent more than 18 years covering B.C. politics, now reporting for CHEK News and writing for BIV. He hosts the weekly show Political Capital and has a NEW daily podcast, Political Capital Daily
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