Gino Kenny (Dublin Mid West, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

I thank our guests. I am under a time constraint because I have to speak in the Dáil Chamber so I have only one question. My question intends to get to the heart of the issue around orphan drugs and access to them. There is a perception, and I think there is a lot of truth in it, that big pharma companies have governments and patients over a barrel in respect of the price they charge for drugs. Some of the prices are jaw-dropping. People who are in need of these drugs, which can be hugely beneficial, and their families have a right to get them but those companies, some of which are based in Ireland, have whole states over a barrel when it comes to the prices they charge.

Another perception is that the assessment of these drugs is quite arbitrary. It can be very cumbersome and protracted, to say the least. I could name a number of drugs whose assessment has gone on for years. That is particularly true in recent years. It leaves families unable to get those drugs. It can be extremely stressful and family members have died because they cannot get those drugs because of the price. That is unethical and immoral. Is that perception of big pharma companies and their economics correct or incorrect? Do they have states and patients over a barrel in the context of the prices they charge?