March 13, 2025 | Iqaluit, Nunavut | Health Canada

In Canada, 1 in 12 people live with a rare disease, and for most people affected, the cost of treatment is unaffordable. Canadians deserve a health care system that provides timely access to quality health services and medications, including effective drugs for rare diseases, regardless of where they live or their ability to pay.

Today, the Honourable Mark Holland, Canada’s Minister of Health, and the Honourable John Main, Nunavut’s Minister of Health, announced a bilateral agreement investing over $7.3 million over three years to improve access to selected new drugs for rare diseases, and to support enhanced access to existing drugs, early diagnosis, and screening.

The first step in this bilateral agreement will be to deliver funding to support the territory for the following four drugs under the National Strategy for Drugs for Rare Diseases:

• Poteligeo, for the treatment of mycosis fungoides or Sézary syndrome;  
• Epkinly, for the treatment of relapsed or refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma; 
• Welireg for the treatment of treatment of von Hippel-Lindau (VHL) disease; and, 
• Yescarta for the treatment of follicular lymphoma, large B-cell lymphoma (LBCL), diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), and high-grade B-cell lymphoma (HGBL). 

The names of other drugs on the common list will be published online on a drug-by-drug basis following the conclusion of the pan-Canadian Pharmaceutical Alliance price negotiations for each drug. In addition, Nunavut is committing through this agreement to work with Canada and other provinces and territories on developing and implementing a plan for improving screening and diagnostics for rare diseases.

The Government of Canada remains committed to working with provinces and territories to improve health care for all Canadians, including access to affordable prescription medications, and to achieving better health outcomes for everyone.