Tommy Broughan (Dublin Bay North, Independent)
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220. To ask the Minister for Health if he will report on the availability of the new medicine trikafta for persons with cystic fibrosis; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48261/19]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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The HSE has statutory responsibility for medicine pricing and reimbursement decisions, in accordance with the Health (Pricing and Supply of Medical Goods) Act 2013.  The Act specifies the criteria for decisions on the reimbursement of medicines.

Reimbursement is for licensed indications which have been granted a market authorisation by the European Medicines Agency or the Health Products Regulatory Authority. With respect to Trikafta, no such market authorisation has been granted by the European Medicines Agency.

In line with the 2013 Act and the Framework Agreement on the Supply and Pricing of Medicines agreed with industry, if a company would like a medicine to be reimbursed by the HSE, the company must submit an application to the HSE to have the new medicine added to the reimbursement list.

As outlined in the Framework Agreement, and in line with the 2013 Act, the HSE will decide, within 180 days of receiving the application (or a longer period if further information is sought from the company), to either add the medicine to the reimbursement list or agree to reimburse it as a hospital medicine, or refuse to reimburse the medicine.

HSE decisions on which medicines are reimbursed by the taxpayer are made on objective, scientific and economic grounds, on the advice of the National Centre for Pharmacoeconomics (NCPE). The NCPE conducts health technology assessments (HTAs) for the HSE and makes recommendations on reimbursement to assist HSE decisions. The NCPE uses a decision framework to systematically assess whether a drug is cost-effective as a health intervention.