Mr. Philip Watt:

They generally tend to look at one particular aspect of a disease and ask how the drug impacts on that. The reason there is a need for a bigger review is that these new drugs are impacting in a much more holistic way so they need to be measured in terms of four or five different end points rather than one. Quality of life is vital in terms of that and must be taken very seriously. We can have all the processes in place - and the Scottish system is very good - but the point Senator Conway-Walsh is making relates to the outcomes. We would remain suspicious if all these new processes are put in place and we still find that Ireland is the only country in Europe that does not approve a particular drug. One's suspicions would definitely be aroused if such a drug was available in most other European countries.