Harris urges free cancer drug access from pharma giants

Minister for Health Simon Harris has appealed to pharmaceutical companies to make life-saving cancer drugs available to patients on a compassionate basis while the Government mulls a decision on approving them.

Mr Harris called on the companies, MSD and Bristol Myers Squibb, to "show some compassion" by making the drugs available free through access programmes.

About 100 cancer patients availed of the high-tech drugs on access programmes over the past year, but these programmes are now closed.

Oncologists have warned patients will die unless they are given access to the drugs, pembrolizumab and nivolumab, which have greatly improved survival rates for melanomas and some other cancers.

Hugely expensive

However, both drugs are hugely expensive and decisions on allowing costs for them to be reimbursed under State drugs schemes have been deferred.

Pembrolizumab, for example, costs an estimated €134,000 per patient per year, and will cost the health service an additional €64 million over five years to replace current therapy.

Mr Harris said he spent most of the weekend liaising with the HSE on the issue and spoke to its director general, Tony O’Brien.

HSE officials are due to meet on Wednesday and the Minister has asked for a recommendation from them by the end of the week.

Mr Harris said “time is of the essence”, and his primary concern was with affected patients.

With so many new, expensive treatments in the pipeline, there was also a need for a “serious look” at public policy on the issue of rising drug costs, he added. “We need to have a really mature and informed discussion about that. We can only deal with that if we tackle cost of drugs.”

The process involved in approving drugs also needed to be looked at. The ultimate decision rested with the Minister for Health, he said, questioning whether this was right when the process should be led by clinicians.

New initiative

Speaking before attending a meeting of the HSE emergency department taskforce, Mr Harris said it was important a new initiative was developed over the next 100 days to help deal with the rise in attendances next winter.

The solution to the pressures on emergency departments does not lie wholly within acute hospitals, he said, but must also include a greater role for primary and social care.

Trolley numbers were down 20 per cent in the first three weeks of May, he pointed out.

Mr Harris said he was keen to incentivise hospitals that were “going in the right direction” and he has begun discussions with the HSE on the creation of a performance management unit.