Oral Answers to Questions

Stephen Hepburn Excerpts

Tuesday 26th March 2019 Commons Chamber

[Caroline Dinenage]

We all miss my hon. Friend the Member for Winchester (Steve Brine), so I thank the hon. Lady for her comments.

Since prescription charges were introduced, Governments of all colours have decided that some patients should pay prescription charges to contribute to the cost of running the NHS, but almost 90% of prescription items are dispensed in the community free of charge, which I think the hon. Lady will agree is an enormous amount.

[Mr Stephen Hepburn (Jarrow) (Lab)]

6. What recent progress has been made in the discussions between NHS England and Vertex Pharmaceuticals on making Orkambi available on the NHS.

[The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (Matt Hancock)]

On 11 March, I held a meeting with all the parties to discuss how best to ensure that people with cystic fibrosis and their families can benefit from the best drugs as soon as possible. Vertex, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence and NHS England met on Thursday and have agreed to take those discussions forward.

[Mr Hepburn]

Does the Secretary of State support immediate interim access to Orkambi while the negotiations are going on, and has he asked NHS England, NICE and Vertex to consider this option?