Durhane wong rieger biography of christopher

  • Chris (Christopher) Ward is a former
  • Durhane Wong-Rieger — recognition

    • Durhane Wong-Rieger: Associations with the pharmaceutical industry

    Healthy Skepticism Soapbox

    Dr Durhane Wong-Rieger (PhD) has strong links with many pharmaceutical companies via a loose network of industry-funded patient-related organisations and several marketing/public relations companies. Wong-Rieger is very prominent in the consumer advocacy field in Canada, but in recent years she has also been involved in meetings and events in Europe and Brazil and Pakistan.

     

    Wong-Rieger is the Chair, President, CEO, or Secretary for at least six industry-funded organisations in Canada. At least four of these organisations share the same Toronto office (151 Bloor Street West, Suite 600, Toronto) , with the same fax number and the same or similar phone numbers. These organisations bear the hallmarks of 'astroturf' lobby groups – front groups that are set up to lobby for commercial or other interests in the guise of community groups.

    Several of these organisations would be likely to be perceived as charities, but only the Canadian Organization for Rare Disorders is included in Canada Revenue Agency's list of Canadian registered charities [ www.cra-arc.gc.ca/tx/chrts/nln_lstngs/cnrg_ntrm-eng.html ].(1)

    A number of key themes dominate the public face of the groups with which Wong-Rieger is involved:

    • the need and right of patients to participate in policy processes in relation to access to drugs, both internationally and within specific jurisdictions
    • the need and right of patients to receive better information about drugs; this has included a consistent and explicit call for legalisation of direct-to-consumer advertising
    • the need and right of patients to have better and faster access to drugs
    • the need for the health system to be patient-focused/centred/driven
    • the claim that Canada is the only developed country (or one of very few) without an orphan drug policy
    • barriers inherent in Canada's single-payer healthcare

    praise for beating the odds

     

    “Beating the Odds is a book that young and old alike should read. It is encouraging and insightful, as well as a teaching tool for all those who happen to see life as ‘a glass half empty.’”

    Mila Mulroney, Honorary Director of Cystic Fibrosis Canada

    “I have personally witnessed the power of Chris’s optimism and resilience. Whatever the odds you’re working against, Chris will inspire you to overcome them.”

    Sheila Copps, former Deputy Prime Minister of Canada and author of Nobody’s Baby

    “I often think of Chris as an insightful warrior. He is driven, committed, and always inspiring. Chris is where he is, health-wise, not only because of advancements in science, but importantly because of his attitude and approach to life and living. This book will be helpful to people living with cystic fibrosis and other diseases – but frankly, his advice is helpful to us all.”

    Kelly Grover, CEO of Cystic Fibrosis Canada

    “Chris MacLeod is a warrior for life. He never gives up. Not with a hole in his heart as a newborn; not with the cystic fibrosis which threatens his wellbeing every time he wants to take another breathe, not when bleeding from his wracked lungs would not stop for months. Life can be difficult; Chris challenges each of us to be much more than we think we can be. Become the CEO of your health and life. Chris does not take no for an answer, especially from himself. Every person with an unmet health need can be a warrior for life, so no one is left behind. Beating the Odds shares Chris’ experiences and reflections, so we all can learn from and then apply by making the next move. And the next. As a thinking person of faith, he frames a dozen lessons for us based on his personal journey. One excerpt: ‘I was told the ADM did not meet with individuals. That led me to establish the Canadian Cystic Fibrosis Treatment Society … to advocate for individuals that need access to medicines like Kalydeco. I will

    ‘Hugely, hugely detrimental to patients’: Durhane Wong-Rieger on treating rare diseases and the risks of single-payer pharmacare

    Durhane Wong-Rieger, the president and CEO of the Canadian Organization for Rare Disorders, discusses the challenges that Canadians with rare disorders face in getting access to drugs and the risk that single-payer pharmacare exacerbates them by focusing too much on cost control and too little on the benefits of personalized medicine.

    This episode was made possible by the Canadian Life and Health Insurance Association and listeners like you.

    The Hub Staff

    The Hub’s mission is to create and curate news, analysis, and insights about a dynamic and better future for Canada in a single online information source.

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