Funding for Canadian health care research

In a recent editorial, Matthew Stanbrook and Paul Hébert discuss Canada's inadequate support for health research.1 Their comparison of the expected per capita investments in academic health research in 2007 in Canada and the United States (showing that the United States invests significantly more than Canada) downplays the divergent priorities of the Canadian and US health care and medical research jurisdictions.

In 2004, Canada spent 9.8% of its gross domestic product on health care whereas the United States spent 15.4%.2 However, there is little reason for us to be jealous of the American health care system. Could the situation with respect to research be similar?

In 2006, $55.2 billion was spent on pharmaceutical research in the United States, or $182.16 per capita. The equivalent market in Canada was worth $1.15 billion in 2006, or $34.85 per capita.3 Medical research is burgeoning in the United States because it is largely funded by private pharmaceutical companies.

Stanbrook and Hébert recognize that we must offer “made-in-Canada solutions, reflecting Canadians' priorities and values” through our research undertakings. Canada need not abandon its goal of being a global player in health care research, but research within a public health care system must show public benefit. Bolstering careers or filling coffers is not enough. We must give up our attempts to duplicate the American medico-industrial research machine and end the “me too” approach that results in Canadian funds being allocated to research that does not uphold Canadian values merely because it would be funded in the United States. Canadian research investments must reinforce distinctly Canadian values. We do not want American health care research any more than we want American health care.