Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy. Obviously, the situation here, as I said, is not a political decision anymore. I recall the interview given on the national news by the specialist involved. On 1 June, the National Centre for Pharmacoeconomics, NCP, recommended that Orkambi for treating cystic fibrosis should not be reimbursed by the HSE. As to the prices submitted by the pharmaceutical company, the cost was €160,000 per patient per year. The NCP indicated that the price would have to be below €30,000 per patient per year to be cost-effective. That is a clinical assessment, not a political one. As Professor Michael Barry stated in his recent expert opinion on the evidence submitted by the manufacturer, the latter got it wrong when it came to pricing. Deputy Martin and I know that the level of cost submitted by some pharmaceutical companies is quite astronomical in the case of certain drugs. Drugs require a clinical assessment as to whether their use is justified.

The NCP estimates that the five-year gross budget impact of Orkambi is more than €390 million and notes the significant opportunity cost of reimbursing the drug as being two thirds of the cost of the children's hospital for one drug alone. If the clinical professor says that the pharmaceutical company got it wrong, is it not important that we should follow through with meetings with those representatives to see can that be reduced? It is not the end of the process and I hope that the HSE will continue to work on price negotiations on Orkambi.

The Deputy made one other point about having a ring-fenced structure for dealing with new drugs that come on the market, which they do every year. That is something that I would be prepared to look at in conjunction with the other parties.

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