Profits at Irish arm of Roche pharma climb by 17%

Accounts for Roche Products (Ireland) Ltd show that pre-tax profits at the company increased by 17pc to €5.3m in 2023.

The lengthy timelines to reimburse medicines in Ireland must be reduced to improve standards of care and patient outcomes, the directors of the Irish arm of pharma giant Roche have stated.

The directors for Roche Products (Ireland) Ltd make the statement in new accounts which show that pre-tax profits at the Irish operation increased by 17% to €5.3m in 2023. This followed revenues increasing by 7% from €116.3m to €124.68m. The directors report that the company “delivered a solid level of sales growth in 2023”.

The Health Service Executive (HSE) is responsible for decisions regarding the reimbursement of new drug technologies. Decisions on reimbursements are made considering a number of factors, including efficacy and therapeutic benefit, cost-effectiveness, budgets, and clinical need.

“While it takes on average 517 days, post-EMA authorisation, to make a new medicine routinely available across European countries, in Ireland it takes 567 days,” the directors reports stated.

They state that medicines give patients the opportunity to benefit from access to therapeutic advances and give clinicians greater opportunity to improve patients standard of care. The directors welcomed the allocation of €30m for new medicines in Budget 2025. “It is important for doctors to have the right medicine available for prescription for patients at the right time,” the directors’ report said.

Operating profits decreased by 2% from €4.59m to €4.48m and net interest receivable of €829,000 compared to interest payable of €62,000 in 2022 resulted in the increase in pre-tax profit. The directors declared a dividend of €7m following a €7m dividend in the prior year.

Sales of Ocrevus, for the treatment of multiple sclerosis, and Hemlibra, for the treatment of Haemophilia, drove growth in 2023. Strong growth was reported with the breast cancer medicines, Perjeta and Kadcyla, and lung cancer medicines, Tecentriq and Alecensa.

Directors said that cancer medicines Avastin, Herceptin, and MabThera, had lower revenues due to the entry of biosimilars in 2022.

The company recorded a post-tax profit of €4.46m after incurring a corporation tax charge of €849,000.

Numbers employed by the company reduced from 86 to 85 but staff costs in 2023 increased by 7% from €10.85m to €11.58m.

The aggregate pay package to directors in 2023 increased by 10% rising from €1.32m to €1.45m made up of salary and bonuses of €844,000, benefits in kind of €548,000, and pension contributions of €63,000.

The company’s spend on ‘travel and entertainment’ totalled €629,000 in 2023. By December 2023, the firm had shareholder funds of €20.05m, including accumulated profits of €17.63m.