Colm Burke (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister to the House. I appreciate his coming in here and taking time out from his busy schedule.This is an extremely important issue because people with cystic fibrosis face major challenges every day and we must do everything possible to assist them. We must also consider how to resolve this issue soon. Vertex has done major research but someone cannot dictate the rules thereafter for access to the product. The Health Service Executive cannot disclose certain information under a confidentiality agreement. If Vertex is satisfied that it is truthful in everything it says why can it not waive the confidentiality agreement and let the HSE release what has occurred over recent meetings? The negotiations on this started in 2012. Over 500 people could benefit from this drug. The National Centre for Pharmacoeconomics has checked and cross-checked the economics and benefits of this drug. It has done several tests and assessments and its figures indicate that we should be talking about a cost of €30,000 per patient per annum whereas the company says it should be €159,000 per patient per annum. We have to make sure we are not held to ransom.

The cost of pharmaceuticals in this country went from €570 million to over €2 billion in ten years. We now pay the highest cost per capitafor pharmaceuticals of any European country. If we give in on this one we set another series of increases in the cost of pharmaceuticals. The figure for 2015 is approximately €2.6 billion between hospitals, the drugs repayment scheme and private buying. That is a huge sum of money for a country this size. It is important to put some restraint on what the drug companies ask for. I welcome the fact that Vertex has agreed to come back into negotiations. Let us have all the information in the public domain. We need to prioritise coming to an agreement on this matter because there are over 500 people who need it as do their immediate families who have to give them support every day. That is a huge strain on those families. I hope we can conclude this matter.

If we pay out the €159,000 per patient per annum that will set the tone for all future negotiations about new drugs. It also raises the question of where we cut the health services. I agree with other speakers who said if a person is on this drug it saves money on days in hospital. We have to make sure we are getting full value for money and helping people. We are prepared to pay extra to ensure these people get the benefit of the drug. The drug company has to be reasonable about what it wants in order to make sure people can access the product.