Oliver OâConnor, chief executive of Ipha, said the extension of the agreement was “a bridge to the negotiation of a new agreement that places the delivery and financing of new medicines on a sustainable and predictable basis”. The pharmaceutical industry and the state have agreed on a six-month extension of a framework agreement on the supply of medicines. This decision is in addition to the industry`s agreement to extend the existing four-year supply agreement with the crown. “We wanted to ensure the supply of medicines to health services, especially during Covid, through the governance framework provided by the extension.” We look forward to continuing to work constructively with the health authorities in the coming weeks towards an extension and a new agreement. We have proposed that a new agreement should take the form of a model of co-financing between industry and the state to cover the cost of new medicines. Paul Reid, President of IPHA, said: “We have agreed to extend the extension of the existing agreement for three reasons. We wanted to give thousands of patients access to the latest treatments by providing a certain amount of funding for the drugs we know they need. This decision is in addition to the industry`s agreement to extend the existing four-year supply agreement with the crown. The 15 new drugs “left behind” are designed to treat patients with a range of diseases, including lung cancer, renal cell carcinoma, urethral carcinoma, leukemia, Parkinson`s disease and chronic migraines. Some drugs have already been approved by the Health Service Executive (HSE) management team. The HSE is planning its deployment. The four-year term of the agreement until 2020 provides patients and their treating clinicians with stability in terms of supply and availability of existing and new medicines. The pharmaceutical industry has signaled that it will not accept an extension of an existing drug cost agreement with the government that has generated savings of hundreds of millions of euros unless it lifts an embargo on the Health Service Executive HSE, which reimburses new drugs that incur additional costs.
The agreement between the government and the Irish Pharmaceutical Healthcare Association has resulted in savings of around €600 million. As part of this extension, HSE`s IPHA member societies will continue to pay a 5.5% discount on drugs for community and hospital care. Paul Reid, President of IPHA, said: “We have agreed to extend the extension of the existing agreement for three reasons. We wanted to give thousands of patients access to the latest treatments by providing a certain amount of funding for the drugs we know they need. We wanted to help the state deal with the pandemic by giving it time and space without the burden of negotiating a new deal with the industry now. We wanted to ensure the supply of medicines to health services, especially during Covid, through the governance framework provided by the extension. All of this tends to begin negotiations on a new supply agreement during the renewal period. It`s a regulation that works for everyone – for patients, for industry, and for the state. The Irish Pharmaceutical Healthcare Association (IPHA), which represents the Irish biopharmaceutical industry, has agreed to extend the framework agreement on supply and supply. The pharmaceutical industry has agreed with the state on a further six-month extension of its drug supply activities, as the Wirtschaftspost has learned. The €30 million released comes at a time aligned with the recent extension or renewal of the agreement and represents part of this €50 million fund. After Budget 2021, IPHA said the new funding would be a game-changer for thousands of patients.
The rapid approval by the HSE, as well as the collaboration between industry and government, means that the impact on patients is materializing. The IPHA said on Thursday that discussions on a possible extension of the current agreement “are progressing well”. However, he said that “for an extension to be viable, it is crucial that we see a movement in the reimbursement of new drugs that have achieved the clinical efficacy of HSE and value for money.” Oliver O`Connor, Director General of IPHA, said: “This extension sets the stage for a new agreement where each party commits to the other party in terms of joint funding, information sharing and ongoing dialogue.” The current framework agreement on the supply and pricing of medicines was concluded in 2016 and expires at the end of July. A copy of the IPHA agreement can be found here: www.ipha.ie/about-us/our-role/agreement-on-the-supply-of-medicines/ In the absence of an extension of the current agreement on the pharmaceutical industry, discounts of around €5 million per month going to the HSE could be threatened. At the same time, an agreement was also reached with MFIs on behalf of the generic and biosimilars industry in Ireland. This four-year agreement runs from 1 December 2021 to 30 November 2025 and, like the IPHA agreement, provides for increased price reductions for generics and biosimilars. The provisions of this Agreement shall complement the overall efforts of the State in the management of the pharmaceutical budget, including support for a competitive market in the non-patented sector. .