No talks on drug despite minister’s promise

No talks are under way with the manufacturer of a drug that threw a lifeline to patients with genetic emphysema, despite a commitment from the health minister to the family of a woman who died while the drug was withheld.

Marion Kelly, aged 52, from Tipperary, died on December 1, two weeks after the death of Anna Cassidy, aged 68, from Donegal.

Both woman had Alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency, a disease that can cause severe lung and liver damage. Both had been on Respreeza, the only drug shown to slow its progression.