The MPP for St. Catharines is worried about the future of a local medical manufacturer which creates cancer drugs.
Jennie Stevens asked Premier Doug Ford at Queen's Park today why his government is allowing Biolyse to be denied access to the Canadian market.
“The pandemic showed us all that Ontario needs local capacity to make the medicines we need so that we don’t have to rely on other countries for critical health care."
She says Biolyse, which is located on Welland Vale Road, is at risk of being forced out of the Canadian market.
"The company has a 25-year history of producing medicine and creating good paying jobs in St. Catharines. It’s a shining example of a made-in-Ontario solution to our health care needs."
Stevens says the Ford government needs to step up and fix a drug procurement system that 'has no oversight and step in to offer support in resolving the dispute that’s causing Biolyse to lose access to the Canadian market.
"Ford’s failure to act will cost jobs and hurt Ontario’s health care sector.”
Hospitals in Ontario procure drugs through large group purchasing organizations.
According to Stevens, HealthPro, the largest of the groups, informed Biolyse that it could not bid to sell their products in Canada due to a contract dispute.
Biolyse has reached out to the Ford government for assistance but according to Stevens has so far been ignored.
We have reached out to Biolyse for comment.