On access to medicines, Mr O’Connell said that a better funding environment and a new framework agreement for the supply and pricing of medicines was improving Ireland’s capacity to get newly developed treatments to patients.“Next year, Ipha member companies expect to launch 30 new medicines, potentially treating more than 7,000 patients,” he said. “The estimated cost of these medicines next year is €35 million.
However, budgetary pressure on the HSE and the high cost of many new treatments, especially those for orphan diseases where there are few patients over which to spread the cost, is an enduring feature of the health service for Irish doctors and patients. He drew attention again to the ongoing concern in the sector about European Union moves on intellectual property rights.