Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the timetable is for the conclusion of negotiations between NHS England, NICE and Vertex on access to (a) Orkambi and (b) Symkevi for people with cystic fibrosis.

NHS England provided an update to the Health and Social Care Committee (HSCC) of the House of Commons on 23 May 2019, which can be found at the following link:

https://www.parliament.uk/documents/commons-committees/Health/Correspondence/2017-19/19-05-23-NHS-England-update-availability-of-Orkambi-on-the-NHS.pdf

This update informed the HSCC that a revised and improved offer had been made to Vertex Pharmaceuticals. Discussions between Vertex, NHS England and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) are ongoing.

The Government fully supports NICE and NHS England in seeking to ensure access for patients to effective and innovative medicines at a price that represents value to the National Health Service, and expects companies to engage realistically with NHS England and NICE regarding pricing issues. Where companies engage positively and show appropriate flexibility, it is possible to find a way to enable access to important treatments in a way that is also cost effective for the NHS.