The Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health, or CADTH, is a Canadian national organisation that provides research and analysis to healthcare decision-makers.[1]
The organisation was established in 1989 by the country's federal government, and those of its provinces and territories.[2] Before April 2006, CADTH was known as the Canadian Coordinating Office for Health Technology Assessment (CCOHTA).[3][4]
On December 18th, 2023, The Government of Canada announced that CADTH would be superseded by the Canadian Drug Agency (CDA).[5]
In 2021, The Government of Canada established The Canadian Drug Agency Transition Office or CDATO in order to move forward with promises of a National Pharmacare program announced in the 2019 Federal Budget.[6][7]
The responsibility of the CDATO was to "work with provinces, territories and key stakeholders on a vision, mandate and plan to establish a [Canadian Drug Agency] that will improve pharmaceutical system coordination and support related work." [6]
The CDATO found various shortcomings within Canada's existing pharmaceutical system, including but not limited to: fragmentation, inadequate infrastructure and poor return on investment as well as duplication of resources. [6]
On December 18th 2023, The Government of Canada announced that CDATO and CADTH would be superseded by the Canadian Drug Agency (CDA), with $89.5 million over the next five years dedicated to establishing the CDA.[5] The CDA's mandate will build upon CADTH's existing mandate and functionality, while expanding upon it using the recommendations provided the CDATO.[5]