Drug substitution list available in two months

By Gary Culliton. The first list of generically substitutable drugs — in this case for atorvastatin — will be available in August, Pat O’Mahony, the Chief Executive of the Irish Medicines Board (IMB) has indicated. Every month, a number of generic substitution lists will be published, with the HSE determining the reference price for the substituted product. Currently, there are 6,000 medicines on the market. The Department of Health has asked that the top 20 medicines — those that have the largest cost to the public health system — be examined by the IMB. There are 100 statin medicines in…