A young girl runs and holds a toy plane while two adults and an older child run near her on the beach

Human health

We are committed to helping improve the lives of Canadians by addressing unmet or underserved medical needs with the development of innovative medicines. By bringing best-in-class treatments to Canada, we’ve created programs to strengthen disease management and promote patient engagement in prevention, health promotion and care. Through these efforts, our work continues to make a positive impact on the health and well-being of Canadians.

The Canadian outlook

Canada's approach to healthcare has evolved to become more holistic and patient-centred, emphasizing the link between physical and mental health while recognizing the impact of social determinants of health.

The population health approach integrates actions across the patient journey including prevention, promotion, diagnosis and care, while promoting overall well-being beyond medical treatment. Canada faces many other public health challenges including chronic diseases, mental health issues, substance abuse, infectious diseases, antimicrobial resistance, and health inequities, particularly in Indigenous communities and rural/remote populations. By addressing these challenges, Canada aims to improve the health and well-being of all Canadians.

Innovative Canadian healthcare treatments

$1B over two years of a national plan for drugs for rare disorders.

$41M in funding through the Canadian Institute of Health Research to drive personalized healthcare innovation specifically around health data and digital tools.

Patient-centred healthcare approach that intentionally places patients and families at the centre of their care and decision-making.

Targeting disease

We target unmet or underserved diseases across all stages of life by providing innovative first- or best-in-class medicines to Canadians. Our commitment to developing new therapeutics and unlocking the potential of existing drugs has helped to treat complex cases across a variety of priority disease areas.

A doctor looks through a microsope in laboratory

Collaborative healthcare

We engage patients in programs designed to strengthen disease management including activities focused on prevention, health promotion and care. Innovative medicines represent only part of the solution to healthcare and patient outcomes. Empowering patients in their health journey while fostering a collaborative healthcare experience is critical to improving health outcomes.

Canada’s investment in One Health initiatives includes the following examples:

Strategy	Action
Place the patient at the centre of all we do, tackling pressing priorities for Canadians and ensuring that healthcare innovations are accessible and impactful.	Established digitally-enabled patient support programs in key disease areas such as idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and generalized pustular psoriasis to understand disease development, manage treatment patterns and navigate stages of disease management.

Strategy	Action
Foster a healthcare environment that encourages dialogue and shared decision-making built on a strong patient-provider relationship.	Our Exandra initiative bring physicians and patients together to make decisions related to treatment plans and lifestyle changes.