Author: Lynne Taylor

In 2011, pharmaceutical products accounted for 54% of all exports from Ireland, but concerns at the massive 35% decline in Irish pharmaceutical production reported for September, in terms of affecting growth of the nation’s export trade and Gross Domestic Product (GDP), are largely misplaced, according to a new analysis.

The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) has launched a public consultation on its preliminary recommendation that InterMune’s Esbriet (pirfenidone) is not recommended for the treatment of mild-to-moderate idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.

In Canada, Quebec is abolishing the rule introduced in 1994 to authorise reimbursement for 15 years for innovative drugs supplied through the province’s public prescription drug insurance plan, even after their patents had expired and if cheaper alternatives, including generics, were available.

In the US, price inflation for the most widely-used branded drugs during the year to September 2012 was more than six times greater than overall economic price inflation for consumer goods, according to new data.

The pharmaceutical industry has “an absolutely key role” to play as the NHS focus moves from medicines management to medicines optimisation, and consensus is needed across the entire pharmaceutical industry about the value of medicines, a leading health official has said.