Messages From Our Leaders
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Message From the Board Chair
On behalf of the Board of Directors, I am delighted to present CADTH’s 2022–2023 Annual Report.
The pandemic, advances in health technologies, and societal change have shifted health systems in Canada dramatically over the past 3 years. The CADTH 2022–2025 Strategic Plan, Ahead of the Curve: Shaping Future-Ready Health Systems, released last year, couldn’t have come at a better time.
The 3-year plan positions CADTH to deliver on our mission of powering evidence-informed drug and health technology decisions for sustainable world-class health care for all. The plan is anchored by 3 key pillars: anticipate, to enable future-ready health care; innovate, to unleash the value of technology across its lifespan; and transform, to catalyze health system change.
This past year alone, CADTH responded to more than 350 evidence requests. Each one provided vital information and advice to Canada’s health system leaders, helping shape important decisions with credible evidence about the drugs, devices, and services that help prevent, diagnose, and treat medical conditions.
My thanks to my fellow Board members, CADTH’s expert and advisory committees, and of patient, clinician, and industry representatives who contribute valuable insight and perspectives to our work.
And finally, a special thank you and congratulations to the staff and executive leadership team at CADTH, led by President and CEO Suzanne McGurn. They are making amazing progress in realizing a deeply ambitious vision of the future.
I look forward to our continued collaboration and the exciting opportunities ahead.
David Agnew
Board Chair
Message From the President and CEO
This year, CADTH’s achievements have demonstrated our continued commitment to excellence and collaboration, and our desire to find new and meaningful ways of providing objective evidence to inform drug and health technology decisions in Canada.
Health care is changing rapidly, and I’m proud to lead an organization that meets change head on. Our work to advance the use of evidence in decision-making and to foster pan-Canadian and international collaboration has an impact today and will also help shape Canada’s future health care systems.
I’m particularly proud of our efforts to include diverse perspectives — from patients, clinicians, industry experts, Indigenous Peoples, and other health technology assessment (HTA) organizations — in our work.
It’s been my honour to partner with pipikwan pêhtâkwan, an Indigenous-owned and led consulting firm. CADTH is listening and learning to better engage with Indigenous Peoples and communities. We are striving to understand, and integrate, the knowledge, perspectives, and expertise of Indigenous Peoples into our ways of working. And while there is much more to be done, I know we have made important and transformational progress this year.
Advancing the use of real-world evidence (RWE) in HTA was another important focus for CADTH this year. RWE comes from analyzing data that are collected outside of randomized controlled trials, and innovating in this area is an important element of our strategic plan. New Health Canada funding that is part of a national strategy for drugs for rare diseases announced in March 2023 will help us further advance our objectives. Drawing on our methods expertise and working with pan-Canadian and global partners, we’re leading discussions in Canada and abroad on optimizing the use and value of RWE.
Another highlight this year was the launch of our Post-Market Drug Evaluation Program and establishing CoLab — a pan-Canadian network of applied researchers, methodologists, and data analysts. This exciting new initiative reflects our ambition to unleash the value of technology across its lifespan. It expands CADTH’s expertise in the life cycle management of pharmaceuticals, from premarket trials (through our early scientific advice program) to postmarket drug evaluations.
At CADTH, it’s truly our people who power our work. We’ve made investments in People and Culture to ensure that our organization continues to be able to recruit and retain top talent, to be a great place to work, and to be a place where employees’ contributions are valued. This year, we’ve focused on employee engagement to support a positive employee experience and a culture that’s centred on inclusion, diversity, equity, and accessibility.
In closing, I’d like to express my deep gratitude to CADTH’s executive leadership team and employees for the energy and commitment to excellence they bring to their work every day. I’m proud of what we’ve accomplished together in the first year of delivering our new strategic plan. I would also like to especially thank David Agnew, our Board Chair, and CADTH’s Board of Director members for their invaluable support and guidance. I look forward to continuing our important work with partners and stakeholders from across Canada and around the globe.
Suzanne McGurn
President and CEO