Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether ensuring access to Orkambi for people with cystic fibrosis is a priority for his Department.

It is a key commitment of this Government to ensure that people with comparatively rarer conditions, like cystic fibrosis, get the same quality, safety and efficacy in medicines as those who have more common conditions.

However, it is also necessary that Vertex prices Orkambi fairly and responsibly. That is why we must go through the right process with Vertex and NHS England, not the Government, working together to secure the best outcome for patients. 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.