Marian Harkin (Sligo-Leitrim, Independent) | Oireachtas source

When will Duodopa, which was approved for reimbursement in February 2020, be sanctioned for use by patients who urgently need it? Duodopa is manufactured by AbbVie, which has a number of manufacturing plants along the west coast. It seems we are very good in this country at manufacturing new medicines but we lag behind when it comes to making those medicines available to people living here. This medicine has taken 26 months to go through the reimbursement approval process. The HSE's drugs group approved it for reimbursement in February but, eight months later, we are still waiting for it to be sanctioned.

There was a big announcement in the budget of an allocation of €50 million for new medicines. In fact, the Minister for Health, Deputy Stephen Donnelly, singled out Parkinson's disease when speaking about that allocation. Duodopa is used to treat advanced Parkinson's disease when no other medicines have worked. I am aware of a person who has been in hospital for more than a month awaiting the go-ahead to be treated with the drug. I will not name the hospital in question in case it might identify the patient. This person cannot leave the hospital and every day must be like a week and every week like a month as progress is awaited. I really hope the Minister of State can offer me good news by giving a date for the sanctioning of Duodopa under the reimbursement scheme.

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