John Brassil (Kerry, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to raise this issue. I thank the Office of the Ceann Comhairle for allowing it. Will the Minister for Health intervene to sanction a pilot scheme for a new system of drug reimbursement for Ocrevus, which is for primary progressive multiple sclerosis, PPMS. Ocrevus is the first medicine approved to treat PPMS. The drug has been approved to reduce the progression of physical multiple sclerosis or physical disability for PPMS patients. The manufacturer, Roche, has outlined a system of reimbursement whereby the HSE would match the price currently paid in Germany with a view to reducing the price once all 14 western European countries have negotiated a wholesale factory price. Once this is done, the average price across the 14 countries would be taken as the standard, and the company would then reimburse any overpayment made in the intervening period.

The Minister for Health, Deputy Harris, asked in this House in September 2017 whether, if we believed the current system was broken, we could start hearing what people wanted to replace it with. He said he believed it is broken also and said the conundrum is how to come up with a better model. What I am offering to the Minister of State, Deputy Jim Daly, and the Minister is a better model, something that we need to consider. Given the Minister's acceptance that the current model is broken, we need to come up with innovative ways of reimbursing orphan drugs.

In trials, people treated with Ocrevus had a 46% reduction in the risk of progressing to a wheelchair by comparison with a placebo group. For a person living with PPMS and for whom disability accumulates twice as fast as with relapsing MS, seven more years without the need for a wheelchair could extend the time he or she could live independently, live in the home or continue working and looking after his or her family. Therefore, it has very real benefits. We are talking about a population of MS sufferers in Ireland of approximately 9,000. Some 10% of this figure is 900. That is the patient population.

We have an opportunity to examine the 2013 Act to do something that is novel. Last week, the Minister was very enthused about signing an agreement with the Benelux countries. The product is available in Holland. I would quite happily accept the price currently being paid in Holland and going back to the original proposal to average out the price once the 14 western countries have approved of it. Either way, it is a novel proposal. The drug has been proven to be effective. For the 900 people with a very debilitating condition who are looking for hope, I really hope the Government will consider the proposal seriously. I hope the Minister of State will not give me the standard Department reply. I await what he has to say with interest.

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