John Curran (Dublin Mid West, Fianna Fail)
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349. To ask the Minister for Health the action he is taking to fast track the publication of the national biosimilar policy in order to increase the use of biosimilar drugs in order that better value for money is achieved in the purchase of medicines; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20753/19]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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My Department and the HSE are engaging in a number of initiatives which will endeavour to lead to better access to medicines for patients, value for the taxpayer and the cost- effective provision of medicines in Ireland.

A public consultation on a national biosimilar medicines policy was undertaken by my Department in 2017.  The responses to that consultation and other possible policy levers are being considered by my Department with a view to developing a national biosimilar medicines policy statement which will be published later this year.

At an operational level, the HSE's Acute Hospitals Drugs Management Programme has a biosimilar strategy in place since 2017 which is making considerable progress using a collaborative approach with hospital pharmacists and clinical teams to bring about changes in prescribing practice. In that respect, hospitals are working towards a targeted minimum prescribing rate for biosimilars of 50%.

The HSE is also working on identifying barriers to the prescribing of biosimilars with a specific focus on education and support. It is seeking to increase understanding of biosimilars through targeted presentations to clinicians and hospitals.

The culmination of these initiatives is a greater uptake in the usage of biosimilars and this is evident by hospital dispensing data. For example, the prescribing rate for the biosimilar drug Infliximab has increased from 5% in 2017 to 40% in 2018. The biosimilar drug Rituximab became available in July 2017 and the dispensing rate has already increased to 25%.

My Department proposes to build on these positive developments and to bring forward a policy statement that would support and complement the many initiatives which are already underway.