Emergency drug approvals could be eased

Health Canada is proposing to make it faster and easier to gain emergency approval for access to livestock and poultry drugs.

The proposals also apply to drugs for pets and people.

Health Canada has opened public comment period that runs until July 19.

The Emergency Drug Release (EDR) program is used to provide access to veterinary drugs to treat animals with serious or life-threatening conditions when conventional therapies have failed, are neither suitable nor available.