HSE pays out €484m to drug firms under scheme

One drug firm received fees over €225m from the HSE through the executive’s High Tech Drugs and Medicines scheme in 2014, new figures show.

The figures contained in the HSE’s Primary Care Reimbursement Service Statistical Analysis for 2014 show that the largest recipient was Uniphar Group (Dublin) and subsidiary Allphar Services which received combined payments totalling €225m.

The hi-tech drug sales by Uniphar to the HSE in 2014 contributed to the drug wholesaler increasing its revenues from €850.5m in 2013 to €1.1bn in 2014.