The Irish Pharmaceutical Healthcare Association (Ipha) recently announced Shane Ryan, the sitting general manager of Takeda’s Irish division, as its new president. He will be joined by Caitriona Duggan, the current country president for Amgen in Ireland, who will assume the Ipha vice-president role. The announcement was made during the publication of a pre-election manifesto which encourages the future Government to hasten the delivery of innovative and life-improving medicines and vaccines for the Irish people.
In this new role, Shane Ryan will be succeeding Michael O’Connell from Biogen, after his two-year term. Ryan expressed his pride in serving Ipha members, emphasising their continued commitment to unearthing and developing transformative drugs and innovative medical practices. He highlighted the forthcoming Irish general election and the recent European Parliament elections as significant opportunities for cooperation towards achieving their goal of positioning Ireland as a favoured investment destination for life sciences.
As part of the announcement, Ipha presented a pre-election manifesto urging the upcoming government to streamline patient access to life-saving medicines. According to CEO Oliver O’Connor, Ipha members anticipate submitting applications for 36 drugs reimbursement next year, potentially benefiting approximately 3,700 patients in Ireland, as well as their families and caregivers. O’Connor further appealed for the next administration to ensure expedient and equitable access to these new, life-improving medicines via multiannual funding and the reform of the prevailing reimbursement process.
With the general election approaching, Ipha is eager to present these proposals to the candidates and other interested parties. To keep abreast of the latest news, business analysis and commentary, you can subscribe to our weekly Inside Business podcast and sign up for Business push alerts delivered straight to your phone.