The Minister for Health, Jennifer Carroll MacNeill TD, announced on 4 March that the State had signed two new Framework Agreements on the Supply and Pricing of Medicines with Medicines for Ireland and the Irish Pharmaceutical Healthcare Association. The agreements run to 31 December 2029 and replace the 2021-2025 arrangements. They were developed by the Department of Health, the Department of Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service and Digitalisation, the Health Service Executive and industry.
The Irish Pharmaceutical Healthcare Association agreement focuses on the route for new medicines and new indications. It commits the parties to a structured change programme towards a 180-day timeline for health technology assessment and reimbursement decisions by the first quarter of 2029. The text also places more weight on earlier company engagement with the Health Service Executive and the National Centre for Pharmacoeconomics, including horizon-scanning, pre-submission contact around European Medicines Agency milestones and submission within six months of marketing authorisation where possible. Where reimbursement depends on a Managed Access Protocol, the agreement sets a 90-day target for development and implementation after the relevant reimbursement decision.
The same agreement retains annual price realignment for on-patent products against the nominated-country basket. It also sets a declining rebate schedule for new medicines added from 2026 to 2029, starting at 9% in 2026 and falling to 5% in 2029. For products already reimbursed before January 2026, the 9% rebate continues.
The Medicines for Ireland agreement addresses the off-patent market more directly. In the Department of Health’s account, it is intended to strengthen supply security, encourage off-patent launches and support a pilot programme for value-added medicines. The wider package also includes a future strategic partnership between the State and industry, including a pilot early access programme for rare diseases.
Rather than simply extending the previous commercial settlement, the 2026-2029 agreements recast the balance between access timelines, expenditure control and supply management. The Irish Pharmaceutical Healthcare Association framework places reimbursement timelines and earlier pipeline engagement on a more explicit footing, while the wider package introduces additional supply and launch measures for the off-patent segment. Read together, the agreements give the State a more structured basis for managing both entry of new products and retention of older ones over the next four years.
Source: Department of Health, Ireland
Link: Minister announces Framework Agreements on the Supply and Pricing of Medicines with Medicines for Ireland and the Irish Pharmaceutical Healthcare Association
Date: 4 March 2026
