Teva welcomes Medicines for Ireland’s report into Value Added Medicines

‘Value Added Medicines’ could offer a wide range of improvements and benefits for patients, healthcare professionals and the HSE.

Medicines for Ireland, the trade association for generic pharmaceutical companies in Ireland, has recently released a report outlining a range of important national and European policy recommendations that illustrate the important role that ‘Value Added Medicines’ (VAMs) play in a wide range of benefits for patients and healthcare professionals.

Value Added Medicines are medicines based on known molecules that address healthcare needs and deliver improvements for patients, healthcare professionals and payers. Value Added Medicines are developed through continuous innovation on well-established molecules, applying different strategies. Some of these strategies were deployed during COVID-19, and provide a good example of Value Added Medicines in action:

There are many potential benefits of Value Added Medicines for the wider healthcare system, including from encouraging better adherence and compliance, to keeping healthcare costs down by reducing the need for patients to be moved to expensive next line therapies.

Teva Ireland’s Director of Speciality Medicines Clodagh Kevans, who also serves as Chair of the Value Added Medicines Committee for Medicines for Ireland, welcomed the report and the wider opportunity to engage with the HSE on this important topic.

“As you’ll see in the report, there’s plenty of evidence to show that Value Added Medicines offer a wide range of benefits for patients and healthcare professionals – from encouraging better adherence and compliance, to keeping healthcare costs down by reducing the need for patients to be moved to expensive next line therapies.

To take advantage of these opportunities, we need a shift in mindset – from one that focuses purely on cost, to an outlook that is centred around better outcomes for patients that takes a holistic look at the whole patient journey. Perhaps even more importantly, we need a new and simplified regulatory pathway for Value Added Medicines in Ireland – bringing us into line with other major European countries such as the UK and Belgium to ensure that our patients and healthcare system are not left behind.”