Cancer drugs costs - HSE will not fund drug treatment

Every time a new wonder drug for treating cancer comes on the market, the hopes of patients seeking a miracle cure are inevitably raised, only to be dashed amid controversy over the exorbitant cost of treatment.

Ireland is no stranger to the long-running debate over the price of medicine. It is an argument that rages from the rooms of high earning consultant to the local pharmacy where over-the-counter products rank among the costliest in Europe. This ongoing dispute is rekindled by the latest advice to the HSE not to fund two new cancer drugs because they are too costly.

At the centre of debate are a breast cancer drug called Perjeta, produced by Roche, and a Pfizer drug for lung cancer called Xalkori. Both are too expensive for the HSE to fund, according to the National Centre for Pharmacoeconomics. Set up in 1998, it assesses all new medicines and advises the HSE on cost-effectiveness, value for money and the impact of reimbursing huge charges on the health service budget. In the case of oncology drugs, a report is also sent to the National Cancer Control Programme.