Douglas Clark
Adjunct Professor
Douglas Clark is a lawyer and former career public servant with expertise in international trade law, intellectual property policy, competition law enforcement, and pharmaceutical pricing and reimbursement.
Doug studied at McGill University, the University of New Brunswick, and the Universit茅 de Moncton. He graduated from law school in 1997 and was called to the Ontario Bar in 1999, following a clerkship with the Honourable Marc No毛l, former Chief Justice of the Federal Court of Appeal.
In 2000, Doug joined the federal government to assist in the case management of two WTO challenges brought by the United States and the European Communities against different aspects of Canada鈥檚 pharmaceutical patent regime. In 2006, he became Director of the Patent and Trademark Policy Directorate at Industry Canada, now Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada. In that role, he led several legislative and regulatory initiatives under the Patent Act and the Trademarks Act, including the development of Canada鈥檚 Access to Medicines Regime and reforms to pharmaceutical patent litigation.
Doug joined the Competition Bureau in 2009 as Assistant Deputy Commissioner in the Civil Matters Branch. He was responsible for several precedent-setting enforcement proceedings under the Competition Act, including cases involving Visa and MasterCard, the Toronto Real Estate Board, and Alcon.
In 2013, Doug was appointed Executive Director of the Patented Medicine Prices Review Board. During his tenure, he spearheaded the most significant reforms to the agency鈥檚 regulatory framework in its 30-year history.
Doug retired from the federal public service in 2023 and became the first Chief Executive Officer of the pan-Canadian Pharmaceutical Alliance, a not-for-profit corporation that negotiates drug prices on behalf of Canada鈥檚 federal, provincial, and territorial public drug plans.
In 2025, Doug founded , a boutique consulting firm specializing in pharmaceutical policy, pricing, and reimbursement. In addition to his consulting work, he writes about complex problems in Canada鈥檚 pharmaceutical system and how they might be addressed. Doug lives in Ottawa with his partner, three children, and a good dog called Finley. Visit Doug’s .