Sir, – In response to Dr Garrett Igoe's letter (October 30th) raising the question about the reimbursement of innovative medicines, I would just like to clarify that the State employs a process called Health Technology Assessment (HTA) to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of new medicines compared to existing medicines.
The Irish Pharmaceutical Healthcare Association (IPHA), which represents the research-based companies that develop these medicines, has an agreement in place with the State, which requires that the National Centre for Pharmacoeconomics (NCPE) undertakes a detailed review of all new medicines.
This process ensures that only the most cost-effective medicines are reimbursed by the State and made available to patients in Ireland. – Yours, etc,
ORLAITH BRENNAN,
Irish Pharmaceutical
Healthcare Association,
Wilton Place,
Dublin 2.