State set to save millions on new deal with the IPHA
The Government and the Irish Pharmaceutical Healthcare Association have agreed on a deal that result in savings of €750 million for the Department of Health.
However, opponents of the agreement claim it is a “big promise but a bad deal” and say it will block access to biosimilar medicines.
The four-year deal between the IPHA and the Government is intended to facilitate access to new medicines. Prices will be set to an average of 14 European countries, with Greece, Italy, Sweden, Portugal and Luxembourg added to the existing nine countries used for comparisons, and and will be reduced on a yearly basis.
The agreement was welcomed by Minister for Health Simon Harris, who said the pricing provisions were a “significant improvement” on previous agreements.
“The Government wants to ensure that Irish patients continue to have access to new and innovative medicines and that Ireland remains at the forefront of its European peers in terms of early access to medicines in an affordable manner and within available resources,” he said. “As a result of this agreement with IPHA, the HSE will be in a much stronger position to meet the increasing demand for existing medicines and also to invest in new medicines over the next four years.”
