IPHA Urges Progress on Access to Medicines as Ireland Signs Up to BeNeLuxA

As Ireland signed up today [Friday] to the BeNeLuxA Initiative on pricing and supply of innovative medicines, the Irish Pharmaceutical Healthcare Association (IPHA) has said the focus of policymakers and industry must remain on fixing a slow and inefficient medicines approvals process for Irish patients.

The BeNeLuxA Initiative includes Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and Austria. But figures show that Ireland lags the countries in the BeNeLuxA group when it comes to access to innovative medicines.

“The figures are stark,” said Oliver O’Connor, Chief Executive of IPHA, which represents the research-based pharmaceutical industry in Ireland. “Just 22% of the new medicines launched in 2014-15 were available in Ireland by the end of 2016, compared to 30% for Belgium, 38% for the Netherlands and 52% for Austria. When it comes to cancer medicines, the situation is even worse. Just 20% of new cancer medicines launched in 2014-15 were available in Ireland by the end of 2016, compared to 28% for Belgium, 60% for the Netherlands and 76% for Austria. In other words, we lag the same countries in the group the Government wants us to join. We have a problem here at home. This is the one we must fix, together,” he added.

Ireland urgently needs to make up ground lost to other EU countries when it comes to delivering access to new medicines for patients. Ireland is slowest in western Europe on the availability of new medicines, and patients in some western European countries can already get medicines that are not accessible here. Among the medicines in our approvals system are some for cancer and heart disease – Ireland’s two biggest killer diseases. Only one-fifth of new cancer drugs launched globally in 2014-15 were available in Ireland in 2016.

“Both industry and Government share a goal to deliver better access to innovative medicines for Irish patients. It is worth weighing any moves, including BeNeLuxA, that can help deliver sustained improvements on the availability of new medicines for patients in Ireland. Equally, though, we must not allow any deal with other countries to distract Ireland from the important work we need to do at home. We need to fix our own system for approving new medicines. The Government has said that it is broken, and we understand ‘scoping work’ is under way as a ‘precursor to engagement with stakeholders’. The industry, through IPHA, wants to be part of the solution. We want to work with Government to help redesign the system for Irish patients,” he said.

Data Source: IQVIA

ENDS