Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment has been made of the clinical benefits of making Symdeko available to people with cystic fibrosis; and if he will make a statement.

Symdeko, a combination of two drugs – ivacaftor and tazacaftor, will be reviewed by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) within its Technology Appraisal programme. The consultation on the suggested remit, draft scope and provisional matrix of consultees and commentators was held from 23 November 2017 – 21 December 2017.

We anticipate NICE will make its recommendation on whether its use should be referred onto its work programme within the National Health Service later this year/early 2019.