Mr. Martin Gallagher:

Senator Colm Burke asked me to expand on the 60% introductory level. The issue is one we have raised several times in various presentations. As a generics industry, we need some sort of incentive to introduce the lower valued molecules into the market. The current 60% entry level on a price is insufficient for us to consider these molecules at the early stage when we start to investigate them, which occurs some years before they come to market. We would like a tiered approach in order that we can enter the market at a considerably lower price than the originator, but somewhere between that and where these prices are being pitched, for example, a year at 20% or 30%. We would like some sort of mechanism to achieve it. Our member companies are turning away generic products with a market value of up to €5 million or €6 million because when we consider them and take into account the pricing and costing, they are not viable in this jurisdiction. Part of this is due to the size.