Lifesaving drugs have been caught up in a funding logjam as the HSE fears the cost involved could adversely affect existing services.

Major reform is still needed to pass on savings on medicines to taxpayers and patients.

A new drug price deal between the State and the pharmaceutical industry will bring medicine costs in Ireland more into line with other European countries, Health Minister Simon Harris said yesterday.

A decision on a multi-billion euro deal between the State and pharmaceutical companies, on price cuts, is imminent.

The Health Service Executive may impose drug price cuts in the absence of a deal with pharmaceutical companies.

The Government is considering using legislation to force price reductions for medicines in the face of resistance from big pharmaceutical firms.

Anne Nolan of IPHA claims (Letters, Nov 5) our branded drugs are at, or below, the European average.

I refer to your article ‘Troika chief: Pharmaceutical drug costs cannot be justified,’ of Nov 1, in which it was stated that “the costs of pharmaceutical drugs in Ireland were three times more than your nearest neighbour”.

Some patients are having to go without vital medicines because of supply shortages, pharmacists have claimed.

A generic drug law now in force could radically change the way pharmaceutical prices are set in Ireland, a report from the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) states.

A landmark deal has been reached with Ireland’s pharmaceutical industry that will save the State more than €400m on what it pays for medicines over the next three years.

The Health Minister James Reilly is claiming a deal on the cost of drugs that will be worth €400m over the next three years.

Ireland’s plan to develop its health innovation hub will see the pharmaceutical sector surpass its record €55bn annual exports, according to John Perry, the minister for small business.

WARNINGS of a €50 annual medical card fee and an increase in prescription charges for medical card holders failed to materialise, but the charges for getting medication will remain.

YOU can’t have failed to notice it.

THE cost of some of the most commonly-prescribed medicines has been slashed by 40% from today.

I AM a pharmacist and I have a problem. I want to take a pay cut, but I also want to have some say in how it is introduced.

THE Department of Health is examining the possibility of enforcing a “generic pricing system” in an attempt to reduce the cost of vital pharmaceutical drugs to the public.

Healthcare distribution company UniPhar has today reported profits before tax of €21.6m for the year ended December 25, 2007.

IRELAND tops the European rankings for complaints of ailments, new research reveals.

THE price of nearly 600 medicines will fall by a fifth from today on foot of an agreement between the pharmaceutical industry and the Health Service Executive (HSE).

MORE THAN 1,000 drug trials have taken place in Ireland over the last seven years, with little or no public knowledge.

The pharmaceutical industry in Ireland has to move up the value chain if Ireland is to remain a key location for the pharmaceutical industry into the future, the Irish Pharmaceutical Healthcare Association (IPHA) Annual Meeting heard today.

Evelyn Ring

THE State could slash almost €10 million a year off the cost of subsidised prescription drugs by making simple changes in how it prices the medicines, research has revealed.

A GROWING trend for doctors to use nurses who are employed by drug companies has been attacked by patients’ groups and a leading pharmacist.

DRUG manufacturers cherry picking lucrative markets are depriving Irish customers of essential medicines, the Irish Pharmaceutical Union (IPU) has warned.

It has been claimed that a number of essential medicines, widely prescribed in Ireland, are not currently available here because pharmaceutical companies won't supply them.

WE pay more for alcohol every week than we spend on our telephone and petrol combined, a survey has found.