Pressure piles on Hancock as Scots say ‘yes’ to vital drugs
HEALTH Secretary Matt Hancock is under pressure to agree a UK-wide cystic fibrosis deal after the Scottish government agreed to make two wonder drugs available on the NHS.
US drug firmVertex has told the Daily Express it is willing to strike similar deals in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
The Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC) – which assesses medicines for Holyrood – last month rejected drugs Orkambi and Symkevi over cost and the lack of data.
But government officials were working behind the scenes to arrange a discount on the pills, which cost £104,000 per patient each year.
A five-year deal has now been agreed – although it is for much more than the £10,000 the NHS in England offered to pay per patient.
Working
The landmark deal is expected to help around 450 of Scotland’s 900 cystic fibrosis sufferers.
Yesterday, a Vertex spokesman exclusively told the Daily Express that it is ready to offer the rest of the UK the same deal as Scotland.
He said: “We are working closely with England, Wales and Northern Ireland to better understand the parameters within which they might want a deal.
“We would be happy to work in any of the nations to put the same access agreement in place as has just been agreed in Scotland. That may provide a quicker route of access to our CF medicines.
“In England, Vertex and NHS England continue to meet and our intensive discussions continue.”
David Ramsden, chief executive of the Cystic Fibrosis Trust, hailed the access agreement in Scotland as a “landmark moment”.
He said: “We celebrate the news but our campaign must continue to focus on Vertex and all parties in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
“Scotland’s success must now be replicated across the UK – we must ensure thousands more people are not subjected to a postcode lottery.”
Marion Fellows, whose threeyear-old granddaughter has CF, said the deal was a “big moment”.
Ms Fellows, who is the SNP MP for Motherwell and Wishaw, said: “Hundreds will be able to lead fuller lives thanks to this decision.
“The Scottish government is leading the way in CF treatment, but CF knows no borders. The UK must follow the Scottish government’s lead and make it available to sufferers in England also.”
Earlier this year, NHS England offered Vertex a £108million-ayear deal for its CF drugs but it was snubbed for being too low. Sources close to Mr Hancock last night said it was unlikely politicians would overturn the decision made by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE).
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesman said: “We always follow clinical advice on medicines, ensuring they provide value for money for taxpayers.
“NHS England has put forward a very generous offer – the largest in its 70-year history. We urge Vertex to accept the deal.”
Unhelpfully, however, NHS England criticised Vertex and branded the US firm an “outlier” in terms of its pricing.
NICE said it was still waiting for fresh information from the US firm about the long-term effectiveness of Orkambi – and had no data at all about Symkevi.