HSE drugs deal to save €20m over four years

PATIENTS who use non-branded drugs are in line to benefit from savings of more than one-third over the next four years after a deal between the Health Service Executive (HSE) and Irish drug companies.

The agreement will also lead to savings for the HSE of over €20 million, which will be targeted at patient services instead. The drugs involved are generic forms of more expensive patented brands, and many are produced in Ireland.

The deal with the Association of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers of Ireland (APMI) ties the price of generic drugs here to that in a number of EU countries including Spain, Austria and Belgium, where the prices for such drugs are among the lowest in Europe.