The Government could achieve a national saving of up to €1 billion over the next five years by switching to generic and biosimilar medicines.

This is according to the latest report by Medicines for Ireland, the Irish pharmaceutical trade association and the supplier of the majority of medicines in Ireland.

On a yearly basis, this means that €200 million of additional saving could be redirected towards additional HSE resources, paying for 6,000 additional nurses or 3,500 extra nursing home beds.

Commenting on the report, the Chair of Medicines for Ireland, David Delaney said: “It is well recognised by the HSE and the Department of Health that the increased use of generic medicines has delivered €1.6 billion in savings to the Irish health system since 2013."

With Covid-19 placing added pressure on the health system, Mr. Delaney added that the proposals set out in the report outline the opportunity for Government to free up significant HSE resource by avoiding an annual spend of hundreds of millions of euro on high cost patented medicines. He explained that over the last decade, the increased use of generic medicines had dramatically reduced the cost of everyday healthcare. 

Mr Delaney warned that failure to address the high cost of medicines will ensure “that funding constraints remain a millstone around the neck of an already overstretched healthcare system". 

Source: www.businessworld.ie