Selexipag funding
Deputy O'Keeffe asked when funding would be approved for the rare-disease drug Selexipag. The Tánaiste said funding follows approval through the assessment process and he would ask Health to check the stage reached.
I will not deprive the few other Members as it is the last day, so I ask Members to bear with me, but they will see a change the next time.
Comment on this
As the Tánaiste is aware, pulmonary hypertension is a rare heart and lung disease. A drug, Selexipag, has recently been approved. When will the Government and the HSE approve funding for this drug so that beneficiaries can avail of it? The drug has been well documented and Professor Sean Gaine, a well-known leading medical adviser on this disease, has asked for it to be considered.
Comment on this
Once a drug goes through the assessment process for drugs for rare conditions and approval is granted, it automatically follows that the finance is available in terms of making the drug available. I am not sure at what stage in the approval process the drug is actually at, but I can get the Department of Health to check with the Deputy.