This report analyzes the total time patients must wait in Canada to gain access to newly invented pharmaceutical and biological medicines, also known as patented drugs. The purpose of this report is twofold: (1) to draw attention to the impact that Canadian public policies and institutions have on the time it takes for patients to gain access to new medicines; and (2) to contribute to the policy discussion about the relative performance of government drug-insurance programs in providing timely coverage for new medicines compared to private-sector drug insurance in Canada.