$49M still in limbo 2 years after Alberta’s imported tylenol deal

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Two years after the deal was announced, the Alberta government is wondering what value taxpayers will receive in exchange for $49 million in unpaid credits with a Turkish company contracted to import pediatric painkillers. It’s not yet clear what you can get.

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On December 6, 2022, then-Health Minister Jason Copping and Premier Daniel Smith held a press conference at an Edmonton pharmacy to announce that the province would import 5 million bottles of acetaminophen and ibuprofen to address shortages across Canada. announced a more valuable transaction. Over $70 million.

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Health Canada has approved only 1.5 million bottles (worth about $21 million) for import, with a prepaid balance of $49 million.

This week, Health Minister Adriana Lagrange told parliament that the company: Atabaiearned interest on the unpaid balance and defended the deal negotiated by Alberta Health Services (AHS) as necessary at the time.

“That was an agreement that was made at the time to get the product due to the fact that it was in such short supply.”

Lagrange, who took over as health minister last June, said the province is working to make up for that amount by acquiring additional medicines from Atabay province.

“Alberta Health Services is looking at products that can be used within hospitals,” she said. “We are considering all options.”

Imported medicines must be approved by Health Canada, which will depend in part on the level of domestic supply already available.

“We will consider and make a final decision.”

AHS said in a statement that it is in negotiations with importer Atabay to “consider and finalize” options to fulfill the remaining contract, but is not involved in the Health Canada approval process led by importer MHCare. He said he did not.

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“As with all commercial transactions, payment details are kept confidential between the contracting parties.”

He did not address questions about how common it is for governments to pay the full amount of a contract upfront, or what drugs are being considered or when they might be available to Albertans.

Postmedia obtained more than 1,200 pages of documents from AHS and Alberta Health related to the purchase of imported medicines through freedom of information requests.

Those documents also include internal AHS emails between pharmacies and procurement officials last year, stating that “backorders of concern do not include Atabay products at this time.” It is stated that.

It lists four options to consider: amoxicillin oral suspension, acetaminophen IV, ASA suppositories, and ketamine.

It also said that drugs could be used for long-term supplies, but drug shortages are often in flux.

“The current Atabay product list is limited in helping us get through the current drug shortage, but could easily change next week.”

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Atabai did not respond to comments or questions about how much interest it had earned over the past two years and at what rate.

‘There’s a reason the government has procurement rules’: NDP

Alberta NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi said in an interview that the deal shows the government is bad at business and disrespects taxpayers’ money.

“They don’t know how to negotiate contracts,” Nenshi said. “How many teachers and nurses could we hire to do that?”

He cited ties to drug importer MHCare (a company that hosted at least five Cabinet members in luxury boxes at Edmonton Oilers playoff games) and demanded that Smith release a full financial report of his dealings with Atabai. asked to do so.

“There’s a reason governments have procurement rules, and that’s to manage risk, and this UCP government has never thought of that.”

The purchase was plagued by delays as the province worked through the Health Canada approval process. By the time the drug arrived in Alberta pharmacies in early 2023, the drug shortage was over.

The state had intended to recoup some of the costs by selling the drug to other states, but later abandoned that plan amid widespread apathy from other state and state governments.

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Many people were hesitant to use acetaminophen because its weak strength increases the risk of measurement errors and overdose.

AHS used the drug in its hospitals for six months before telling staff to stop it and switch back to domestically produced products. Medical staff told Postmedia that the drug was unpopular not only because of its different concentrations, but also because of its high consistency and the risk of clogging feeding tubes.

Several staff working at hospitals in different cities said the drugs remained in storage.

Many of them are scheduled to expire within 13 months from now.

Smith told Postmedia in an interview that the state is looking at ways to reuse the drug before it deteriorates.

“We have to find a way to fill the remaining orders.”

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