Sir, – There is widespread concern throughout Europe regarding the cost of drugs.
In Spain and Northern Ireland drugs are far cheaper than in the State. Now we see Pfizer in the UK has been fined £84.2 million for overcharging for an anti-epilepsy drug. (News, December 7th).
We all understand the high cost of drug development, but the price for the cystic fibrosis drug Orkambi, at €159,000 a year per patient, is understandably beyond the State’s resources and refusal to pay puts people’s lives at risk.
There is a huge opportunity for the EU to negotiate centrally to reduce drug prices. Surely such a scheme would benefit all EU citizens and the companies would only have one round of negotiations. Where there is widespread community benefit, the narrower interests of the drug companies should rank second. – Yours, etc,
MICHAEL PRATT
Donnybrook,
Dublin 4.