Ireland sees Budget 2025 funding boost for new medicines [Advocacy Lab Content]

Expected funding for new medicines in Ireland’s ‘Budget 2025’ has been welcomed by members of the Irish pharmaceutical industry, which predicts the sector will make reimbursement applications for 36 medicines in 2025, benefitting as many as 3,700 patients in Ireland.

The Irish Pharmaceutical Healthcare Association (IPHA) said it is ready to partner with the Irish Government to achieve faster access to all the medicines Ireland’s patients need, helping to create a continuous flow of new medicines which can make significant life-enhancing changes to patient care in Ireland.

In a pre-election move, the Irish Government has earmarked an additional €8.3 billion for Budget 2025 and €1.5 billion for this year’s health service. The funds aim to address healthcare quality, service provision complexity, and the aftermath of the pandemic and inflation. These fiscal plans are outlined in the recently approved Summer Economic Statement.

Clear policy plan needed

IPHA Chief Executive Oliver O’Connor said: “We believe that there needs to be a clear policy to plan for and fund the continuous flow of life-enhancing new medicines in 2025 and over multiple years. Efficiencies are both possible and desirable to make the medicines spend sustainable but alone they cannot provide sufficient funding for the uptake of new medicines. Annual new developments Exchequer funding remains a necessity.”

Ahead of Ireland’s Budget 2025, the IPHA which represents the international research-based biopharmaceutical industry, reiterated the importance of funding new medicines which they said are an integral and vital part of the healthcare system.

While advances in medicines development are steadily growing, to ensure that patients in Ireland can access these therapeutic advances, the IPHA said it is vital that a direct allocation for new medicines is provided for again in 2025 as was done in 2021, 2022, 2023 and eventually in 2024.

These newly funded medicines should improve the standard of care for patients suffering from several diseases such as cancer – breast cancer, leukaemia, prostate cancer, multiple myeloma and others – Alzheimer’s, stroke, women’s health conditions, migraine, dermatitis, asthma, ulcerative colitis, type 2 diabetes and liver disease.

Life-enhancing medicines

Along with benefitting thousands of patients, these life-enhancing medicines will also positively impact the lives of their families and carers.

It is estimated that an allocation in the order of €25 million in new development funding for new medicines in 2025 is required to allow patients in Ireland access these new life-enhancing treatments.

Ireland’s ‘Budget 2024’ initially allocated zero funding for new medicines – this decision was reversed by the Government in December, with €20 million allocated for new medicines and a further €10 million to be made available through savings.

Consequently, by 1st July 2024, 20 new medicines – both IPHA (13) and non-IPHA (7) – have already been reimbursed by the Health Service Executive. According to the IPHA, current data indicates that at least 700 patients and their families and carers are benefitting from 15 of those new medicines. Further positive reimbursement decisions this year should benefit several thousand patients more.

Newly authorised medicines pipeline

O’Connor remarked: “IPHA member companies are actively delivering significant savings to the State on an annual basis via the Framework Agreement we agreed in 2021, and which expires in September 2025, within the Budget year now being considered. This Agreement has delivered more than €400m in savings in its first two years of implementation, well above the anticipated overall savings of between €600-€700 million for the full four-year period.”

He added: “We remain ready and willing to partner with Government to achieve certainty for clinicians and patients and to work with the HSE to bring newly authorised medicines to the Irish healthcare system as quickly as possible.”

Budget overrun

The Department of Health is currently grappling with a €1.1 billion budget overrun, prompting Ministers Paschal Donohoe and Stephen Donnelly to strategize on managing the excess. The ministers have also confirmed a €4.5 billion contingency fund for 2025 to cushion against unforeseen costs related to the Ukraine conflict and the ongoing pandemic.

The budget will be spearheaded by newly appointed Finance Minister Jack Chambers, succeeding Michael McGrath who was nominated to the European Commission.

 [By Brian Maguire | Euractiv’s Advocacy Lab ]

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