Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

It is very unfair if the company has given 20 people compassionate access to a life-transforming drug and is seeking to withdraw it from these patients as part of a negotiation to get a better price deal or wider access. This seems to be a very unfair approach by the company. There are responsibilities on the company. If it gives access to a life-transforming product it should sustain it for those people in a pilot programme. Of course there are issues on the wider front, regarding the HSE deciding on the efficacy of the drug and the possibility of extending it to a much wider number of patients.

That has substantial economic cost. The Minister has just negotiated a saving of €650 million for access to new drugs by taking a hardheaded approach to negotiating with companies but these 20 patients should not lose their access to this product so that a negotiation can be concluded on more favourable terms. The approach of Government, to seek international support and put on a united front to get a decent deal for public patients, is the right one.

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