Drugs Withdrawn from the Canadian Market for Safety and Effectiveness Reasons, 1990-2024: A Cross-Sectional Study

At times it is necessary to withdraw drugs after they have been approved because of lack of effectiveness or safety concerns. Health Canada does not keep a list of withdrawn drugs.

The aim of this study was to generate a list of all drugs approved since 1990 and subsequently withdrawn from the Canadian market for safety or effectiveness reasons until the end of 2024. This list was used to examine trends in the number of withdrawals and the percent of new drugs that are approved but eventually withdrawn.

A list of withdrawn drugs was developed based on previous published research and supplemented by examining lists of withdrawn drugs in other jurisdictions. The time, in years, was calculated between the date of approval and withdrawal. The reasons for withdrawal came from either Health Canada documents or, if unavailable, from international sources. Withdrawals for commercial reasons were not included in the analysis.

Of the 1094 drugs approved from January 1, 1990, to December 31, 2024, a total of 37 were withdrawn: 32 were new active substances (molecules never marketed before in any form) and five were other types of new drugs. The median time to withdrawal was 3.60 years (interquartile range 2.45-9.50). Approximately 5% of all new active substances approved in a 5-year period were eventually withdrawn over the period 1990-2009. Between 2010 and 2019, the withdrawal rate was < 2%. The most common reasons for withdrawal were cardiac and liver complications.

As a percent of all drugs approved, relatively few drugs are withdrawn, and the number of drug withdrawals as a percent of approvals declined between 2010 and 2019.