New research finds that patients in Ireland could get access to medicines one year earlier

• It currently takes 617 days on average from application for IPHA medicines to be reimbursed.
• 86% of medicines reimbursed were in excess of the 180 days allowed to the HSE in the Health Act 2013 for decisions on an application.
• The Government has stated it wants quicker access to new medicines. This can be done.
• Partnership between industry and State, with Government support, is required to create a system that delivers faster and fairer access to new medicines within the legislative timelines.

Today, (Wednesday 26^th February) the Irish Pharmaceutical Healthcare Association (IPHA) publishes a position paper on the 2025 Programme for Government Commitments which makes the case for Faster and Fairer Access to Medicines. This paper, which for the first-time measures access to medicines timelines against the Health Act 2013, finds that patients in Ireland continue to wait almost two years to access new life-enhancing medicines. In welcoming commitments by the new Government, IPHA offers a way forward to reform the system and provide patients with the care they deserve.

The Programme for Government states the Government is committed to ensuring that patients have access to new medicines ‘as quickly as possible.’ Faster and fairer access is essential because patients in Ireland are currently not getting the same treatment that is available in other countries or indeed available to private patients here in Ireland. Clinicians often find themselves in the difficult position of not yet being able to prescribe a new medicine which they know could improve the healthcare outcomes for their patient.

According to the IPHA findings, of the 88 IPHA medicines reimbursed from 2022-2024:

• 617 days was the average reimbursement time from medicine application in the Irish system to patient access.
• For the 45 IPHA cancer medicines reimbursed during these three years, the average time before a patient could access the treatment was 694 days.
• Over this period, there were 17 IPHA orphan medicines reimbursed which took 655 days to patient access.
• On average it took 916 days for 44 IPHA medicines needing a full Health Technology Assessment (HTA) to be available to patients in Ireland, for which state processes accounted for approximately 65% of the time or 593 days.
• Of the 88 IPHA medicines reimbursed, it took on average five months from the final price offer being proposed by a company to the State before the medicine reached the patient.
• 86% of medicines reimbursed during the three-year period were in excess of the 180-day timeline outlined in the Health Act 2013.

Based on these figures, it is clear that the reimbursement system needs to be resourced, governed and designed to operate within the legal 180-days timeline set by the Oireachtas in 2013. Operating within this timeframe will speed up access for patients by a year or more.  IPHA are not calling for a change to the law but rather reform of the system to ensure all parties involved adhere to the legislation. This can be achieved by incorporating and adopting Five Key Principles of mutual commitments in the Framework Agreement, due for negotiation in 2025.

Collectively, pharmaceutical companies and the HSE, along with Government support, can create a system that delivers fairer and faster access to new medicines, within the Health Act 2013, and provide patients in Ireland with timely access, ‘as quickly as possible’, to the treatment they need.

Speaking ahead of their Annual Conference in Dublin today, Oliver O’Connor IPHA Chief Executive said “A year can make a big difference in a patient’s life. In the normal course of events, if the Irish system adhered to the legislation, patients in Ireland could access new medicines within a year rather than, on average, nearly two years after an application for reimbursement, and longer for many cancer and rare disease medicines.

“We now have an opportunity, together, to effectively reform the system and meet the goal of faster and fairer access to new medicines for patients in Ireland.

“We welcome positive steps introduced in recent years by the Minister for Health such as the use of ‘indicative timelines’ by the HSE. The Programme for Government commitments to review the medicines reimbursement process and to implement the Mazars Review recommendations further builds upon this recognition that patients in Ireland deserve better.

“A new Framework Agreement on the pricing and supply of medicines between IPHA and the State is due to be negotiated in 2025. IPHA is proposing Five Key Principles of mutual commitments to be included in the Framework Agreement. If adopted, these Principles will improve patient care, allow for more productive partnerships, improve health system functioning and will fulfil the commitments in the Programme for Government for quicker access to new innovative medicines.

Read paper here.

ENDS

Notes to Editor:

Section 18(2) of the Health Act 2013 obliges the HSE to make decisions on applications for reimbursement of new medicines within 180 days, that is, exclusive of when information is requested from companies (‘clock stops’).

Under the 2021 IPHA Framework Agreement, the HSE further commits to implement its decisions on reimbursement within 45 days, within overall ‘guidance’ and ‘endeavours’.

Source for all data: 93% dataset of all IPHA medicines reimbursed from 2022-2024 based on public and company information. If there was a lack of available information to attribute to timelines, time was classified as ‘uncategorised’.