AFTER a long and fraught four years, an agreement between Pharma company Vertex and the NHS has finally resulted in Orkambi and Symkevi, the “game-changing” cystic fibrosis drugs, being made available on the NHS. 

Vertex were originally asking £100,000 per patient, per year for Orkambi, which the NHS couldn’t afford, resulting in a protracted price negotiation that above anything else illustrates a system which requires fundamental change.

This conflict between private companies and their need to give returns to their shareholders operating in the medical arena where much more is at stake was highlighted by Just Treatment patient leader Emily Birchall who said: “This is absolutely brilliant news for patients and for all the families who have fought so hard to access Orkambi and other medicines for cystic fibrosis over the last four years.