Bittersweet moment for families as drug reimbursed

Almost a year to the day since Anna Cassidy died “gasping for breath”, the drug which had helped sustain her has finally been secured for life for 19 patients who, like Anna, suffer from genetic emphysema.

It is a bittersweet victory for her family, and for the family of Marion Kelly, who also died during a period last year when none of the then 21 patients who took part in a clinical trial could access the therapy.