9 November 2018 - The Health and Social Care Committee has formally requested documents from Vertex Pharmaceuticals, NHS England and NICE with regards to the ongoing negotiations for the provision of Orkambi, and other drugs for the treatment of cystic fibrosis, on the NHS. 

This request is in connection with its consideration of access for NHS patients to drugs where their pricing means they are not considered cost effective and, therefore, a good use of NHS or taxpayer resources.

The Committee’s request for papers includes the formal submissions and offers made by Vertex to NICE and NHS England, including those made throughout the negotiation period to date. The Committee has requested that NHS England provide their formal response to Vertex’s original offer and any formal updates to subsequent proposals, and that NICE provide an unredacted assessment of the clinical and cost effectiveness of the drugs presented to the NICE appraisal committee. It has also sought from NICE a memorandum to set the negotiations on Orkambi in the context of other negotiations on drugs whose pricing has not been considered cost-effective.

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