Ireland has the lowest rate of availability for new cancer medicines in western Europe, according to a new report compiled for the European pharmaceutical body EFPIA.
Only one in four of 56 new cancer treatments licensed since 2020 are available in Ireland.
The survey of 36 European countries, including 27 in the EU, covers between 2020 and 2023, analysing 173 innovative medicines authorised for use by the European Medicines Agency (EMA).
Of the 56 oncology medicines which were granted an EMA licence, only 14 are currently available in Ireland. Among western European countries, this is the lowest rate of availability for cancer medicines.
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The Irish Pharmaceutical Healthcare Association (IPHA) said cancer patients in Ireland are having to wait almost two years after EMA authorisation to access newly licensed medicines.
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The association said this is 55 days longer than last year and above the EU average of 586 days. The overall time to make a medicine routinely available in Ireland has lengthened significantly since 2020 when it took 477 days while in 2024 it was 645 days.
“Lower rates of availability for cancer medicines means inferior treatment options for patients and clinicians than is routinely available in the UK and elsewhere in Europe,” it said.
The Framework Agreement on the Pricing and Supply of Medicines, which outlines the principles and processes for the assessment of new medicines in Ireland, is due to expire in September.
The association said the reimbursement system needed to be “resourced, governed and designed to operate” within the legal 180-days timeline for HSE decisions set by the Oireachtas in 2013.
Oliver O’Connor, chief executive of the association, said: “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.”
Other western European countries analysed with higher rates of availability include Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Austria, Spain, Portugal, Luxembourg, France, England, Denmark, Finland, Belgium, Scotland, Sweden, Norway, Netherlands and Iceland.
