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Vertex Pharmaceuticals and the UK health authorities are unable to reach an agreement on access to cystic fibrosis drugs for years, but the new agreement between Vertex and its neighbor, Scotland, is likely to weigh all its weight.
The drug maker and the Scottish authorities have signed a five-year agreement that will see 400 cystic fibrosis patients gain access to Orkambi or Symkevi from Vertex. As part of this agreement, Vertex will collect real-world data to support any future drug submission.
In a statement, Vertex International Vice President, Ludovic Fenaux, thanked the Scottish authorities "for their partnership and the collaborative and flexible way in which we worked together to find this access solution".
With the agreement, Vertex's medicines were reimbursed in 17 countries, but not in England in particular. The company's leaders and health officials have been trying to guarantee access for years, but so far the coming and going has not resulted in an agreement.
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Last year, Jeffrey Leiden, CEO of Vertex, wrote to former Prime Minister Theresa May that England's position on drugs was devaluing patients' lives and threatening the British biopharmaceutical system. This spring, Leiden and Vertex Sales Director Stuart Arbuckle traveled to England for a hearing before the UK Parliament's Health and Welfare Committee. After the hearing, Leiden met with UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock, but the parties still have not reached an agreement.
A few weeks later, in response to a request from the audience, Vertex disclosed that it had destroyed 8,000 expired Orkambi packs as negotiations proceeded, resulting in indignation of the patients and the defenders of their interests.
With news of the agreement in Scotland, lawyers and others still rise in power pressure on officials in England to reach an agreement.
RELATED: Still stuck in Orkambi talks, Vertex chief executive prepares Mano a Mano with UK health secretary
According to documents from the National Institute for Excellence in Health and Care, Vertex's Orkambi, which gained European approval in 2015, costs £ 104,000 per patient per year in the UK, before discount. Last year, the British authorities proposed £ 500 million over five years and $ 1 billion over 10 years for access to all drugs for the treatment of cystic fibrosis Vertex. According to the Cystic Fibrosis Trust, about 10,500 people in the UK have cystic fibrosis.
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