Irish pharma seeks election commitments on innovation investment, clinical trials

Despite Ireland’s stellar biopharmaceutical success, the new president of the Irish Pharmaceutical Healthcare Association says industry and government must avoid complacency. With a general election in sight, investment in innovation and clinical trials are on the table.

Shane Ryan, General Manager for Takeda Ireland, was recently appointed as President of the Irish Pharmaceutical Healthcare Association (IPHA). Central to his presidency, Ryan has pledged a focus on partnership to create an ecosystem that values innovation and improves health outcomes for all.

Asked by Euractiv what can be done to make Ireland the investment destination for life sciences, Ryan said: “We have a thriving life sciences environment in Ireland and continued support for this is crucial. There is a strong level of experience across regulators, government and business agencies and a huge pool of talent – which is vital in improving the patient, provider and payer experience and supporting the establishment of a globally competitive life science ecosystem.”

Inward biopharma investment

Ryan’s role at Takeda, a leading R&D-driven biopharmaceutical company headquartered in Japan, lends perspective on inward investment into Ireland’s biopharmaceutical sector. He said: “Although our heritage in innovation and manufacturing of medicines for the world is helping to attract new investments in biopharmaceutical production, we can’t be complacent about the future.”

“Ireland does have challenges to overcome, especially in giving more patients faster access to new medicines and remaining competitive to attract the next wave of investments.”

He explained that industry, government and the health system must work together, supporting economic growth and better health outcomes for all Irish citizens.

Ryan remarked that when it comes to the Irish Government advocating for this at the EU level, he said he believes that it is only through “genuine, transparent patient-centred partnership [that] can we continue to improve outcomes, deliver healthcare advancements, and progress innovation and research for the benefit of all.”

He added: “This collaboration needs to be with stakeholders both locally and at an EU level, such as with government, regulators, business, patient groups and state agencies, in order to effectively address the complex issues we face in healthcare and to ensure the ecosystem remains globally competitive.”

General election looming

As Ireland gears up for a general election in the coming months, the IPHA launched its General Election Manifesto, bringing forward policy ideas on how patients in Ireland can have faster access to new medicines.

The election, which must be held no later than March 2025 to elect the 34th Dáil, arrives at a time of high tensions between the Department of Health and the finance ministry.

All sections of the health ecosystem remain unhappy with the government’s failure to meet adequate service levels and payment ratios. The mood music amongst healthcare professionals is marginally less cheerful than the voting population, which has faced long delays and headline-grabbing trolley waits in hospital corridors.

Ryan and newly confirmed IPHA Vice-President Caitriona Duggan, Country President for Amgen Ireland, launched their manifesto against this public budget high-wire act.

“It is a pivotal time – the recent elections of the European Parliament and the upcoming Irish general election present exciting opportunities for us to work in collaboration with others to achieve our vision of creating an environment which helps patients and places Ireland as the investment destination for life sciences,” said Ryan.

EU pharma package

Oliver O’Connor, Chief Executive of IPHA, said: “As we continue to engage in the reform of the EU Pharmaceutical Legislation, plan ahead to work with the next Government in Ireland and prepare for a new Framework Agreement, I look forward to supporting [Ryan and Duggan’s] goal in creating an innovative, competitive ecosystem which benefits all patients in Ireland.”

Central to the IPHA’s election manifesto is an ask for the next government to commit to “a continuous and faster flow of new life-enhancing medicines and vaccines.”

Commenting on the launch of the manifesto, O’Connor said: “Next year, IPHA members expect to make applications for reimbursement for 36 medicines which, according to most recent estimates, would positively benefit as many as 3,700 patients in Ireland, alongside their families and carers.”

“However, we need to ensure that patients in Ireland will have fast and fair access to these new life-enhancing medicines next year, and in subsequent years, through multi-annual funding and reform of the current reimbursement process.”

Prioritising new medicines

O’Connor emphasised doctors should have the right medicine available for prescription for their patients at the right time. He said the IPHA is “calling for a new voice for doctors in prioritising new medicines for patients. We would also like to see a levelling-up of care for patients with rare diseases through faster access to the medicines they need.”

“To further these goals, the industry is ready to play its part in speeding up the process and reaching a new Framework Agreement with the State in 2025. Since the last Agreement in 2021, IPHA member companies have actively delivered significant savings to the State well above what had been anticipated for the full four-year period of the Agreement.”

Authorising new medicines

“An innovative life-science sector is of strategic importance to Ireland and Europe,” said O’Connor, adding: “IPHA companies are key contributors to R&D and clinical trials which improve patient outcomes and quality of life here and around the world. However, currently, in Ireland, we need to do better in terms of the numbers of clinical trials being conducted.”

He remarked that the industry wants to give patients hope through faster access to research treatments, and O’Connor welcomed the recent establishment of a new National Clinical Trials Oversight Group by the Minister for Health to support innovation and patient outcomes, “we look forward to seeing its outputs,” he said.

O’Connor singled out IPHA’s support for Health Minister Stephen Donnelly’s goal of doubling the number of clinical trials in Ireland, adding, “We believe this can be achieved over the lifetime of the next Government with clear and sustained political support.”

[By Brian Maguire | Euractiv's Advocacy Lab ]