At long last! CF drug that’s ‘almost a cure’ is given the go-ahead
A CYSTIC fibrosis wonder drug was finally given the green light yesterday by EU chiefs.
Kaftrio, made by US firm Vertex, has been dubbed “almost a cure” for the cruel genetic condition.
The Daily Express has been campaigning with families for the treatment to be made available here.
After more than 200 Express articles about CF, NHS England finally signed a Kaftrio deal in June, followed by Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland.
Now the NHS can finally roll it out to patients after the EU, which is still in charge of regulating UK medicines, officially granted the pill a European licence yesterday.
Last autumn, the Daily Express celebrated with families after the UK agreed NHS deals for Vertex’s other life-saving CF treatments Orkambi and Symkevi.
Now, families have celebrated again after the firm’s latest drug was given the go-ahead.
Sharon Cranfield, 54, from Tadworth, Surrey is mother to 19-year-old sufferer Jessica. She told us: “After years of battling it feels great that Kaftrio is finally here.”
Alison Dillon, 53, mother to sufferer Oli, 22, of Sevenoaks, Kent, said: “We have literally been counting down to this day for months. It’s unbelievable.” Yesterday, NHS national medical director Professor Stephen Powis said: “This landmark deal has put NHS CF patients at the front of the queue for transformational treatment.
“The NHS has developed world-leading commercial capabilities, enabling us to strike such landmark deals with the pharmaceutical industry and support people with cystic fibrosis to lead longer, healthier, better quality lives.”
The CF Medical Association called Kaftrio “truly life-transforming”.
The UK deal will last four years, at which point it will be re-evaluated by the NHS drugs appraiser.
David Ramsden, of the CF Trust, told the Daily Express: “It’s thanks to a huge community effort that these medicines are now available for so many people with CF.”