Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care what plans he has to ensure his Department continues to engage and meet with NHS England and Vertex to discuss access to Orkambi.

NHS England has been in intensive discussions with Vertex to encourage it to price Orkambi at a level that would allow NHS England to fund its use without adversely impacting other patients. I and the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health (Lord O’Shaughnessy) have been keeping an extremely close eye on these discussions and wrote to Vertex in April, urging it to commit to pricing that is responsible and proportionate. I also re-iterated this message in the adjournment debate on 17 July, Official report, columns 383-4.