Critical Drugs Coalition

The Critical Drugs Coalition (CDC) is a group lobbying for wider access to (and increased funding for) certain pharmaceuticals.¹⁾ Specifically, the group cites shortages in ketamine, fentanyl, midazolam, propofol and morphine - powerful sedative and painkiller drugs that the group alleges are “desperately needed in critical care settings in the fight against COVID-19”.

This is deeply disturbing on a number of levels. First of all, there is a staggering opioid crisis that the Government of Canada describes as “one of the most serious public health crises in Canada's recent history,” attributed in large part to contamination of the illicit drug supply with fentanyl.²⁾ As expected, mortality data from across the country “show a worrying increase in opioid-related harms and deaths since the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak.” This has been observed in Canada as well as the United States.³⁾

Additionally, healthcare staff in the United Kingdom have been accused of causing substantial excess deaths through overprescription of midazolam, potentially amounting to medical malpractice.⁴⁾ Legal action is underway in the wake of a growing number of whistleblowers and testimonies alleging intentional or negligent death by “misuse of sedatives”, primarily midazolam.^{5) 6)} The number of prescriptions for the drug doubled in April 2020 compared to the prior months, but its use in COVID-19 is suspect because of its effects; “Midazolam depresses respiration and it hastens death. It changes end-of-life care into euthanasia.“^{7) 8)}

Despite claiming to be independent volunteers, the members of the Critical Drugs Coalition team are individuals who stand to benefit personally or through their employer from increased funding for pharmaceutical products and policies:

• Kashif Pirzada - Founder

• John Adams is:
  • Board Chair of the Best Medicines Coalition;⁹⁾
  • Co-founder and President of Canadian PKU & Allied Disorders (sponsored by Biomarin, Vitaflo, Innovative Medicines Canada, Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, PTC Therapeutics, and Canadian Red Cross);¹⁰⁾
  • Volunteer co-chair of the Disability Tax Fairness Alliance;¹¹⁾
  • Past member of the Board of Directors of the Canadian Organization of Rare Disorders;¹²⁾
  • Former reporter for the Globe and Mail;¹³⁾
  • Former Chief of Staff to the Ontario Minister of Community and Social Services;¹⁴⁾
  • Former Director of Marketing Services for the Urban Transportation Development Corporation;¹⁵⁾
  • Former Director of Government Relations for the Ontario Public School Boards' Association;¹⁶⁾
  • Former Councillor for the City of Toronto;¹⁷⁾
  • Global Director of Business Development for OZ Systems International¹⁸⁾
  • Speaker with the Canadian Institute.

• Saad Ahmed is a physician and lecturer at the Scarborough Health Network.

• Ahmed Bagit graduated from Brock University. He is a member of the Canadian Muslim COVID-19 Task Force as a volunteer in Communications and Media.¹⁹⁾ He has also co-written several pro-pharmaceutical articles.²⁰⁾

• Abdul Basith is an emergency physician at the Markham Stouffville Hospital at Oak Valley Health, associated with the University of Toronto.

• Aman Chatha is:
  • Founder of Social Impact Agency;^{21) 22)}
  • Founder of Group Buy United
  • Vice President of Innovation and Strategic Partnerships at The Marketing Department (TMD)
  • Leader of Corporate Partnerships & Sponsors at Conquer COVID-19
  • Senior Business Development Consultant at Cloud Dynamics Inc.
  • Senior Strategy & Business Development Consultant at Tench Labs
  • Various senior positions with Aon
  • Former teacher at Sheridan College

• Ian Hilley is self-described as an “experienced pharmaceutical executive” and “effective advocate and lobbyist.”²³⁾ He is President of Hilley Pharma Advisors, President of the Canadian Hemochromatosis Society, former Chair of Community and Home Assistance for Seniors (CHATS) and Member of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain.²⁴⁾ Hilley’s CV also includes history of “providing strategic leadership and advice to clients to achieve their commercial goals in areas such as business development, engaging private payors, product development, market access and pricing.” Those positions include:
  • Vice President of Government Affairs and Market Access at Mylan Pharmaceuticals ULC, which merged with Upjohn (a former Pfizer subdivision) to form Viatris Inc. in November 2019.^{25) 26) 27)}
  • Vice President of North American Partnerships (and other positions) at Genpharm Inc., which provides services to multinational pharmaceutical companies in Commercial Partnerships and Strategic Advice. Their medical portfolio includes CRISPR Gene Editing and Gene Replacement Therapy, and the company is partnered with Albireo, Avexis, Orchard Therapeutics, Sarepta Therapeutics, PTC Therapeutics, BioHaven Pharmaceuticals, UltraGenyx Pharmaceutical, Novartis, GlaxoSmithKline, Gedeon Richter, AB Biotics, LeMaitre Vascular, Life Codexx, Map BioPharma, Sintetica, and the Global Network of the American Chamber of Commerce.²⁸⁾

• Rameeka Khan is a clinical pharmacist, also at Markham Stouffville Hospital.

• Amirpouyan Namavarian is a resident at the University of Toronto’s Department of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery section.²⁹⁾ He began his postdoctoral training on July 1, 2021.³⁰⁾ He served as a Research Assistant at University Hospital - London Health Sciences Centre (June 2016 - June 2017); Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry (July 2016 - May 2017); Trillium Health Partners (January 2018 - January 2021); and Mount Sinai Hospital (June 2019 - August 2019).³¹⁾ He previously completed his Bachelor of Sciences in Interdisciplinary Medical Science at the University of Western Ontario, where he attended from 2012-2016.

• Rahil Shah is:³²⁾
  • Design Technologist Intern at Shopify
  • Product Design Intern at Robinhood, Meta, and Twitch
  • Front-End Developer at the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry
  • Various roles, including Co-Director, at DeltaHacks
  • Product designer for CanTrace, presented to the Government of Canada
  • Web Design Intern at Nova Solutions
  • Sponsorship Executive at McMaster Design League

• Abdulwahab Sidiqi is a fourth-year medical student at the University of Toronto. He co-wrote the following articles strongly advocating for pharmaceutical products:
  • “Anti-vaxxers may be a lost cause but the vaccine-hesitant must be brought on board”³³⁾
  • “To catch up on vaccinations, we must include family doctors, pharmacists in rollout plans”³⁴⁾
  • “Canada must double-down on mRNA production to overcome vaccine nationalism”³⁵⁾
  • “Speed is of the essence: Canada falling behind in rapid COVID testing”³⁶⁾