Irish patients face an average wait of nearly two years, or 644 days, post-European Medicines Agency (EMA) authorisation to access new treatments, which is 55 days longer than the previous year and above the EU average of 586 days.
The overall time to make a medicine routinely available in Ireland has also increased significantly, from 477 days in 2020 to 645 days in 2024. This delay in access results in a lower standard of care for Irish patients compared to their counterparts in the UK and other European countries.
The data has been published in a new report by IQVIA for the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA). The report is particularly shocking in the context of Ireland’s ongoing transatlantic tariff fight and President Trump’s focus on Ireland’s stellar pharmaceutical industry.
Despite its pharmaceutical export prowess, Ireland continues to rank poorly among Western European nations in terms of access to newly licensed cancer treatments.
Delays diminishing lives
The report reveals that only 25% of the 56 new cancer treatments licensed since 2020 are available in Ireland. This starkly contrasts with other Western European countries, where patients have broader access to these life-enhancing medicines.
Critics say the report underscores the need for reform in Ireland’s reimbursement system.
The Irish Pharmaceutical Healthcare Association (IPHA) has highlighted the potential of the new IPHA Framework Agreement to address these deficiencies. They say the current agreement, set to expire in September, presents an opportunity to overhaul the system to ensure faster and fairer access to new medicines.
Oliver O’Connor, Chief Executive of IPHA, emphasised the urgency of the situation, stating that 86% of medicines reimbursed in Ireland between 2022 and 2024 exceeded the 180-day decision timeline mandated by the Health Act 2013.
Systemic reforms needed
He called for systemic reforms to ensure adherence to this legislation, which promises timely access to new treatments.
O’Connor said: “Earlier this year, IPHA published a position paper making the case for Faster and Fairer Access to Medicines by measuring access timelines against the Health Act 2013, which obliges the HSE to make decisions on applications for reimbursement of new medicines within 180 days.”
“Patients in Ireland deserve better, and we can do better, if the political and administrative desire is there. Pharmaceutical treatments can represent a lifeline to cancer patients, significantly enhance quality of life and change the prognosis of individual patients.”
The current Irish coalition’s ‘Programme for Government’ has acknowledged these delays and committed to ensuring that patients receive new medicines as quickly as possible.
The experience of other countries, which manage to make medicines available in half the time while maintaining budgetary controls, demonstrates that improved partnerships between health authorities and pharmaceutical companies are feasible and should be prioritised in Ireland.
Agreement expiring soon
As the current framework agreement nears its expiration, there is a clear opportunity to implement changes that could significantly improve the availability and timeliness of new cancer treatments for Irish patients.
Explaining to Irish voters how the country leads Europe in pharmaceutical manufacturing yet fails cancer patients will be a hard sell for Ireland’s Minister for Health, Jennifer Carroll MacNeill. With Ireland falling behind even the average EU ranking for the provision of timely cancer medicines, Minister MacNeill.
Euractiv reached out to Minister MacNeill for comment, but had not yet received a response at the time of publication.