A round-up of today's other stories in brief
Ex-rugby star hails depression drive
FORMER ALL Black John Kirwan has said the depression-awareness initiative Lean on Me will save lives. Kirwan fronted a similar campaign in New Zealand having written a bestselling book about his own depression called All Blacks Don't Cry. The ex-player and international coach flew into Dublin last week to lend his support to Lean On Me which is fronted by former Ireland rugby international Alan Quinlan and supported by Aware and drug company Lundbeck.
Botox no longer needs to be tested on animals
THE APPROVAL of a new test means that Botox no longer requires testing on animals. Approved by the Irish Medicines Board (IMB), the new test, formulated by Botox manufacturer Allergan, means the toxin can now be tested for human safety using non-animal, cell-based methods.
The approval is specific to Allergan’s botulinum toxin type A products. They include the Botox brand, which is used in the treatment of facial spasm, excessive sweating and chronic migraine, and the company’s Vistabel brand, which is used in the treatment of frown lines. Until now, regulatory authorities required the products to be tested on mice.
Allergan, which has substantial operations in Mayo, said the test follows a decade of research and development and an investment of $65 million (€48.5 million) towards minimising the need for animal-based testing.
The company estimates that the new test will reduce the use of animal-based testing for Botox and Vistabel by at least 95 per cent over the next three years as other regulatory agencies around the world approve it. The approval does not extend to botulinum toxins made by other manufacturers.
Allergan’s plant in Westport makes the world’s supply of Botox. Last month the company announced that with soaring worldwide demand for its products, 200 new jobs were to be created at its Westport plant.
The company said the $350 million investment would help it to expand its manufacturing capability for Botox in Mayo and to develop a manufacturing base for the next generation of biologic products currently in the pipeline.
BreastCheck costs to be reviewed pre-expansion
THE DEPARTMENT of Health is to spend up to €60,000 in trying to identify efficiencies in a value-for-money review of the State’s BreastCheck roll-out.
Over the past 11 years, BreastCheck has detected 5,071 breast cancers by providing 826,210 free mammograms to 368,851 women. As part of the Programme for Government, one of the Government’s objectives is to extend BreastCheck to women aged 65-69. To date, the programme has focused on women in the 50-64 age bracket.
However, a previous report by the Health Information and Quality Authority (Hiqa) found that the unit cost of breast screening in Ireland appears high compared with other European countries such as the Netherlands and England.
Hiqa recommended a detailed analysis of the systems be carried out to identify cost savings here. Now, the Department of Health is seeking consultants to carry out the value-for- money review before the roll-out of the service to women aged 65-69 can begin.
The department’s documentation does not provide a commitment as to when the extension of BreastCheck will be rolled out, stating only that “it is intended to extend the programme when resources become available”. “Therefore, to that end, it is critical that any potential savings in the current service are realised.”
The Department of Health’s document confirms that 127,000 women were screened last year – a significant rise on the numbers screened in any of the four preceding years. The figures show that €80.8 million was spent on BreastCheck between 2007 and 2010.
