Canadian Drug Expert Committee (CDEC)

The Canadian Drug Expert Committee (CDEC) is an appointed, pan-Canadian advisory body to CADTH composed of individuals with expertise in drug therapy, drug evaluation and drug utilization, and public members (for a lay perspective).

As part of the CADTH reimbursement review process, CDEC makes reimbursement recommendations for non-oncology pharmaceuticals to the participating federal, provincial, and territorial publicly funded drug plans. It also makes recommendations related to the identification, evaluation, and promotion of optimal drug prescribing and use in Canada.

CDEC's approach is evidence based, and the advice reflects medical and scientific knowledge, current clinical practice, economics, ethical considerations, and patient and public impact.

CDEC is appointed by, and reports to, CADTH's President and CEO. Members must abide by the Conflict of Interest Policy and guidelines for CADTH Expert Committee and Panel Members and the CADTH Code of Conduct. An honorarium is paid to CDEC members for their preparation and meeting time.

Chair

Dr. Jim Silvius, BA (Oxon), MD, FRCPC

Dr. Jim SilviusDr. Jim Silvius is a Clinical Professor in the Cumming School of Medicine, Division of Geriatric Medicine, at the University of Calgary. At Alberta Health Services (AHS), he is the Senior Medical Director of Provincial Seniors Health and Continuing Care. He was the previous Provincial Medical Director of Pharmacy Services for AHS, a member of the Alberta Health and Wellness Expert Committee on Drug Evaluation and Therapeutics between 1999 and 2003, and Chair of that committee from 2004 to 2015. Jim is also a former member of CADTH’s Canadian Optimal Medication Prescribing and Utilization Service (COMPUS) Expert Review Committee. Dr. Silvius maintains a clinical practice in geriatrics at Rockyview General Hospital. His other interests include dementia care, care delivery, and deprescribing at the Canadian Deprescribing Network (or CaDeN), where he is a Co-Director.

Conflict of Interest Disclosure


Members

Mr. Bob Gagne

Mr. Bob GagneBob Gagne holds an MBA from York University and a BSc from Western University. He has held a number of senior leadership roles over the past 30 years including four years in planning and strategy development with a global financial institution, eight years as director of information technology in a teaching hospital in Toronto, and three years as director of strategic technology for a top Canadian Internet portal. Most recently he was the chief information officer at York University for eighteen years before retiring in 2017. Bob has served on multiple industry and community boards of directors including the boards of Onet, GTAnet networking, the Canadian University Council of CIOs, and the Canadian Association for Tay-Sachs and Allied Diseases. He is currently a member of the board of CANARIE. His experience with, and appreciation for, Canada’s health care system was strongly shaped by the life and care of his daughter Elizabeth who was born with Tay-Sachs disease, a rare, neurodegenerative genetic disorder.

Conflict of Interest Disclosure

Dr. Ran Goldman

Dr. Ran Goldman Dr. Ran Goldman is a professor of pediatrics, a clinician-investigator and pediatrician, with a fellowship in pediatric emergency medicine and clinical pharmacology and toxicology. He did his specialized training in Toronto, and served as a Staff Physician at the Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids). He was then recruited to BC Children’s Hospital as the Chief of Emergency Medicine. Dr. Goldman also served as the Assistant Dean of Continuing Education at the University of British Columbia. He is currently the University’s Co-Chair of the Division of Pediatric Translational Therapeutics in the Faculty of Medicine, and a member of the BC Children’s Hospital Research Institute.

Dr. Goldman completed a Master of Health Research Methodology and trains numerous students in conducting effective research. His research program focuses on pain in the acute care setting and his lab findings resulted in an improved pain management approach for children worldwide. With more than 150 peer-reviewed publications, Dr. Goldman does not only discover, but successfully disseminates, his team’s findings into clinical practice guidelines for children with pain in the acute care setting. He is leading the world’s largest online resource for acute care medication research — Pediatric Research in Emergency Therapeutics (PRETx.ORG).

Conflict of Interest Disclosure

Dr. Danyaal Raza, MD, MPH, CCFP

Dr. Danyaal RazaDr. Raza is a staff physician with the Department of Family and Community Medicine at St. Michael’s Hospital, founding lead physician of the Sumac Creek Health Centre, and an assistant professor at the University of Toronto. He is a graduate of Harvard University’s Masters of Public Health program, where he was awarded a Frank Knox Fellowship, and is also a former fellow in Global Health at the University of Toronto’s Department of Family and Community Medicine. Dr. Raza completed post-graduate medical training at Queen’s University, and holds a Medical Doctorate and Bachelor of Engineering Science from Western University.

Dr. Raza’s academic work focuses on Canadian health care policy and, most recently, on federal and provincial policy governing the availability and costs of prescription drugs.

Conflict of Interest Disclosure

Dr. Emily Reynen, BSc. Pharm, PharmD, MD, CM

Dr. Emily ReynenDr. Reynen completed both undergraduate and doctorate degrees in Pharmacy at the University of Toronto Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy. She obtained her medical degree from the McGill University Faculty of Medicine. Emily completed her core internal medicine residency training at Queen’s University, where she is currently completing Critical Care medicine subspecialty training.

Emily practised as a primary care pharmacist at the Two Rivers Family Health Team in Cambridge, Ontario. She later worked as a clinical research officer for CADTH and as a research coordinator at the Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute at St. Michael’s Hospital.

Emily has experience in systematic review, rapid review, and network meta-analysis methodology. Her research interests include the comparison of research methodology, and quality improvement in the delivery of patient care.

Conflict of Interest Disclosure

Sally Bean, JD, MA

Dr. Adil ViraniSally Bean is the Director of the Health Ethics Alliance & Policy at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in Toronto, Ontario. Sally earned a BA in Philosophy and English, an MA in Bioethics and Public Policy, and a Juris Doctorate. After law school, Sally completed a two-year fellowship in Clinical & Organizational Ethics through the University of Toronto Joint Centre for Bioethics. Additionally, she is a member of the University of Toronto Joint Centre for Bioethics, an adjunct lecturer in the Dalla Lana School of Public Health and the Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation, and an associate member of the School of Graduate Studies at the University of Toronto.

Conflict of Interest Disclosure

Dr. Kerry Mansell, BSP, PharmD, MBA, ICD.D

Dr. Adil ViraniDr. Mansell is a Professor and Assistant Dean at the College of Pharmacy and Nutrition, University of Saskatchewan. His practice and research interests are in the area of diabetes. He teaches various endocrine subjects along with a variety of other pharmacotherapeutic areas to pharmacy students. He is an Associate Editor for the Canadian Journal of Diabetes and is a board member of the Canadian Foundation for Pharmacy.

Conflict of Interest Disclosure

Dr. Srinivas Murthy, B.Sc (Hons), MD CM, FAAP, FRCPC, FRCPC (ID), FRCPC (CCM), MHSc

Dr. Srinivas MurthyDr. Murthy is a pediatric critical care specialist and clinical epidemiologist and researcher at the University of British Columbia and BC Children’s Hospital. He completed his post-graduate medical training at Boston Children’s Hospital and the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto (SickKids), with advanced research and health technology assessment training at the University of British Columbia. He is a member of the BC Children’s Hospital Research Institute.

Srinivas’ research and clinical expertise is in the management of severely infected patients. He chairs clinical guidelines for provincial, national, and international organizations, including WHO. He is principal investigator on a number of Canadian Institutes of Health Research‒funded, multinational, clinical trials.

Conflict of Interest Disclosure

Alicia McCallum

Alicia McCallumAlicia is the Provincial Pharmacy Manager of Clinical Services for Health PEI. She earned a Bachelor of Chemistry at the University of Prince Edward Island and a Bachelor of Pharmacy at Dalhousie, as well as a Master of Health Economics and Pharmacoeconomics at UPF‒the Barcelona School of Management online). Alicia has also worked in a variety of frontline and leadership positions in both Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island as a Provincial Renal Program Pharmacist, Provincial Clinical Oncology Pharmacist, and as a community-based Pharmacy Manager.

Alicia has served on several notable committees and organizations including the Atlantic Expert Advisory Committee for the Atlantic Common Drug Review, the Provincial Drugs and Therapeutics Committee, the Provincial Research Ethics Board, and as President of the Prince Edward Island College of Pharmacy.

Alicia has significant experience in medication-related budget impact assessments, formulary reviews, formulary development and maintenance, and policy creation and review.

Conflict of Interest Disclosure

Dr. Peter Zed, BSc, BSc (Pharm), ACPR, PharmD, FCSHP

Dr. Peter ZedDr. Zed is currently Professor and Associate Dean of Practice Innovation in the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Associate Member in the Department of Emergency Medicine in the Faculty of Medicine at the University of British Columbia. He is also the pharmacotherapeutics specialist in Emergency Medicine at Vancouver General Hospital.

In addition to almost 25 years in practice and as an educator, Peter has sustained a productive research program for both clinical and practice-based research, with a consistent record of extramural funding. He has more than 130 peer-reviewed publications, 150 conference research abstracts, and has given more than 350 invited presentations to local, provincial, and national audiences. He has been the recipient of many research, teaching, and service awards.

Peter has a long-standing professional service record serving as chair or member of numerous provincial and national committees including as a member on the Drug Benefits Council in the British Columbia Ministry of Health, as well as the Drug and Therapeutics Advisory Committee for Indigenous Services Canada.

Conflict of Interest Disclosure

Dr. Christine Leong, BSc, BScPharm, PharmD

Dr. Christine LeongDr. Leong is an Associate Professor at the College of Pharmacy (with a Cross Appointment at the Department of Psychiatry) in the Max Rady College of Medicine, Rady Faculty of Health Sciences, at the University of Manitoba.

Christine received her Doctor of Pharmacy degree from the University of Toronto and her Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy degree from the University of Manitoba. She also received a Professional Interest Certificate in Pharmacoepidemiology from McGill University.

Christine is a clinical pharmacist, with practice experience in community, hospital, and primary care settings. Her primary area of research is in primary care, mental health, drug use optimization, and psychotropic medication use using pharmacoepidemiology and qualitative methods. Her projects include the use of administrative data from the Manitoba Centre for Health Policy to evaluate medication exposure in Manitoba. Christine is also currently a member of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research Drug Safety and Effectiveness Network Steering Committee.

Conflict of Interest Disclosure

Dan Dunsky

Dan DunskyMr. Dunsky is a veteran journalist with 25 years of experience in broadcast, print, and digital media. He created and was Executive Producer of The Agenda with Steve Paikin ― Canada’s premier prime-time broadcast of long-form analysis and insight journalism. Prior to that, Dan produced the international affairs program Diplomatic Immunity and worked at CBC’s The National.

From 2016 to 2019, Dan was Vice-President at Public Inc., where he helped businesses and not-for-profits integrate social impact strategies into their organizations’ operations. He is the founder of Dunsky Insight, a strategy and strategic communications consultancy. As an analyst, Dan has appeared on CNN, CTV, and NewsTalk1010, and has written for numerous Canadian and American publications, including The Globe and Mail, the Toronto Star, and The National Interest, and is a regular contributor to the Literary Review of Canada.

A sought-after speaker, Dan talks regularly on the promise and peril of digital change to liberal democratic institutions. His volunteer activities include work with CAMH ― the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health ― and the Toronto Western Hospital.

Conflict of Interest Disclosure

Morris Joseph

Morris Joseph

Morris Joseph is a retired clinical pharmacist with extensive experience in community, hospital, and government practice. He graduated with a BSc in Pharmacy from the University of Toronto. He has a keen interest in advocating for patients’ rights in medical treatment and research and, to that end, is presently serving as a member of the patient–partner working group of the Ontario Support for Strategy for Patient Oriented Research Unit, the College of Lived Experience of Clinical Trials Ontario, and the patient engagement communities of the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research and the Institute of Clinical Evaluative Sciences. During his career in hospital practice, he served as a drug utilization evaluation pharmacist at the Scarborough Hospital, General Division, where he played an important role in the development of an antibiotic guidelines handbook, resulting in more therapeutically appropriate and cost-effective patient care. In addition, he worked as an individual clinical review pharmacist for the Exceptional Access Program at the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care. In this role, he enabled eligible patients to access the required specialized medications and ensured the appropriate use of these medications. For a number of years, he was a part-time caregiver for his late wife, who had chronic progressive multiple sclerosis. He managed to maintain her ability to reside at home by coordinating all of her supportive care and helped her to cope with restricted functional abilities as well as navigate our health care system.

Conflict of Interest Disclosure

Edward Xie, MD, MSc, CCFP (EM)

 Edward Xie

Edward Xie works as an emergency physician at University Health Network and is an assistant professor in the Department of Family and Community Medicine at the University of Toronto. He completed medical school at the University of Western Ontario, followed by a family medicine residency at St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto and a fellowship in emergency medicine at McGill University. Dr. Xie received a Master of Health Policy, Planning and Financing from the London School of Economics, and is currently a doctoral student at the Institute for Health Policy, Management and Evaluation at the University of Toronto. His research on equity in prescription drug insurance systems is supported by a Canada Graduate Scholarship from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research.

Dr. Xie's academic interests include the policies, economics, and equity of universal health coverage. He also has experience in planetary health and is a Fellow of the Centre for Sustainable Health Systems at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto.

Conflict of Interest Disclosure

Trudy Huyghebaert, PharmD, BSc Pharm, CDE, ACPR

Trudy Huyghebaert

Dr. Trudy Huyghebaert is a clinical pharmacist for the Department of Family Medicine at the University of Calgary – Alberta Health Services. She has an active clinical practice, is involved with medical resident education and quality improvement projects, and also precepts PharmD students for the University of Alberta and University of Toronto. She has a clinical appointment as a Clinical Assistant Professor in the Department of Family Medicine, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary.

Trudy received her Doctor of Pharmacy from Idaho State University and her Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy from the University of Alberta. She also completed her hospital residency at the Ottawa Hospital.

Trudy has practice experience in community, hospital, and primary care settings. Her clinical and research areas of interest are the application of evidence-based medicine, sustainable health care, and chronic disease management in primary care (with a special interest in diabetes and chronic pain). Her projects include the development of a primary care evidence-based medicine website, multidisciplinary clinic-based patient education sessions, and sustainable health care and the role of the primary care pharmacist. Trudy is currently a member of the Diabetes Working Group for Alberta Health Subcommittee for Adult Chronic Care.

Conflict of Interest Disclosure

Peter Jamieson, MD, CCFP, FCFP

  Peter Jamieson

Peter Jamieson is a clinical professor at the Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, and is a practising family physician and hospitalist. He is the previous Medical Director of the Foothills Medical Centre, a 1,000-bed academic medical centre in Calgary, and is now the Associate Medical Director for Clinical Operations for Alberta Health Services. Dr. Jamieson has previously held leadership and expert roles with the Patented Medicine Price Review Board of Canada, the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Alberta, the Alberta Medical Association, and the US and Canadian Societies for Hospital Medicine.

Conflict of Interest Disclosure