Billy Kelleher (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)
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677. To ask the Minister for Health if he will report on the work of the technical review committee for orphan drugs; the date of the committee's establishment; the membership of same; the chairperson of the committee; the date of their appointment; the number of meetings that have taken place; the recommendations that have been made by the committee; the action taken to implement recommendations; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45927/17]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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The National Centre for Pharmacoeconomics (NCPE) conducts the economic evaluation of new and existing technologies (e.g. pharmaceuticals, vaccines, diagnostics) to determine their cost effectiveness or value for money.

A new Committee called the “Rare Diseases Medicinal Products/Technology Review Committee” was established in June 2017 by the NCPE. The terms of reference for the Committee have been finalised and the responsibilities of the Committee include the review of proposals for funding of new products for rare diseases or expanded indications for existing products for rare diseases.

The Committee will also contribute to the development of clinical guidelines for relevant Orphan Medicinal Products and support the implementation of same.

Dr. Michael Barry is the Chair of the Committee since 13 September 2017. It is expected that Committee will begin its work in early 2018 after appointment of the necessary support staff.