Michelle Mulherin (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I rise to welcome the negotiations that have commenced between Vertex and the HSE on the price of Orkambi with a view to making it available to suitable cystic fibrosis patients. On the basis of the 25% success rate for patients in clinical trials, the best approach for the HSE and the one it wishes to take is to seek payment based on patient outcome. The outcome of the negotiations may well be a watershed and an opportunity to draw a line under the rogue and unethical behaviour in which drug companies have engaged. These drug companies should not be making a corporate game out of making life-saving and life-enhancing drugs available to the sick and dying, knowing well that governments like ours are trying to do the best for their citizens. In this case, asking for €160,000 per patient while the CEO is earning €25 million per annum can be described as shameless greed and highly unethical.

Drug companies have a track record. They have denied life-saving drugs to people in developing countries, including HIV-AIDS drugs and antiretroviral drugs in Africa, while people in some of the same countries have been used as guinea pigs and lost their lives. Corporate social responsibility is an in-vogue concept for these multinational companies. The challenge is for the drug companies to pay more than lip-service to it so that it actually means something. Drug companies would do well to remember that they would not be in a position to make their big profits without the environment of relative political stability provided in particular by western governments. I refer in particular to our respect for the rule of law which protects their intellectual property and patents and provides them with the protection of the corporate veil under which they can trade and take risks. They have a great deal to thank western governments for. As such, a line must be drawn under the unacceptable unethical behaviour in which they have a long track record of engaging.