Health Committee to discuss Orphan Drugs with HSE

The meeting will focus on the evaluation of ‘Orphan Drugs’ in Ireland and delays in reimbursing the costs of approved medicines.

Representatives from the Health Service Executive and the National Centre for Pharmacoeconomics will appear before the Committee.

Committee Chair, Dr Michael Harty TD, said, “This Committee meeting with focus on the evaluation of Orphan Drugs in Ireland.  An Orphan Drug is intended for the treatment of rare and ultra-rare life-threatening or chronically debilitating conditions affecting small numbers of patients.  The Committee is keen to establish the factors that cause delays in reimbursement of approved medicines, resulting in delayed access for Irish patients to these orphan drugs. The Committee is anxious to examine the process used by the NCPE in assessing orphan drugs.  The prolonged assessment and lack of transparency is of concern. The Committee is also anxious to examine why approval by the European Medicines Agency and approval in other European countries is not taken into account in the Irish approval process and why price negotiation with pharmaceutical companies is not collectively engaged in with other European countries.”

Committee proceedings can be viewed live here

Committee proceedings can also be viewed on the move, through the Houses of the Oireachtas Smartphone App, available for Apple and Android devices.