Pharma sector promises ‘fitter and faster’ way to get drugs to market

Proposals for a “fitter and faster reimbursement process” for medicines in Ireland have been promised by the incoming president of the Irish Pharmaceutical Healthcare Association (Ipha), the industry body for the drug development sector in Ireland.

Michael O’Connell said the focus for his two-year term in office would be on achieving a better environment for access to medicines, competitiveness and innovation.

Mr O’Connell, who is the country director for Biogen, takes over from Pfizer’s Irish head, Paul Reid. He said it was an “exciting time” for the biopharmaceutical industry, both in Ireland and more globally.

“The pandemic has demonstrated the dividend of science, with protection through vaccines helping social and economic life to resume,” he said.

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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.

‘Sustained funding’

“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. We will shortly bring forward proposals for a fitter and faster reimbursement process which, alongside sustained funding for new medicines, should narrow the gap between the completion of health technology assessments and the availability of new medicines for patients.”

Getting new medicines to patients has been a particular bone of contention for pharma companies in Ireland over recent years. New generation drugs find themselves stuck in long queues waiting for approval or for budget space to be found to pay for them. The industry and the Government are hopeful that the new pricing agreement will ease the pressure.

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.

Mr O’Connell warned that the Irish pharmaceuticals sector’s ability to keep the production, research and commercial investments it has in Ireland, “and to attract new ones in biologics and next-generation therapies, will depend on how well we can compete in a volatile global trading environment”.

‘Blunt-instrument policies’

“We must maintain diverse global supply chains and avoid blunt-instrument policies like ‘near-shoring’ or ‘reshoring’ that would jeopardise supply chain resilience. We must ensure the entire medicines supply chain is insulated from energy rationing,” he said.

He drew attention again to the ongoing concern in the sector about European Union moves on intellectual property rights.

“As the European Commission works on a legislative proposal that will shape the operating environment for medicines innovation, it is vital that intellectual property rights be protected and strengthened,” he said, calling on the Government to “champion innovation”, industry speak for patent protection.

“We have a jobs-rich industry in Ireland and a strong pipeline of new medicines for better clinical care. All that shows that the policy environment has worked for innovation. Now is not the time to damage that environment. Let us resolve to bolster it,” said Mr O’Connell.

Takeda’s Shane Ryan takes over as Ipha vice-president.