Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 30 November 2023 to Question 3472 on Cystic Fibrosis: Drugs, when she expects the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence to publish their final guidance on the use of ivacaftor–tezacaftor–elexacaftor.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) published draft guidance on 3 November 2023 which does not recommend Orkambi (lumacaftor-ivacaftor), Symkevi (ivacaftor-tezacaftor) and Kaftrio (ivacaftor–tezacaftor–elexacaftor) for the treatment of cystic fibrosis.

The draft guidance has recently been subject to a public consultation and NICE’s Appraisal Committee met on 14 December 2023 to consider the comments received in response to the consultation.

NICE will be liaising with key stakeholders to determine the most appropriate next steps for its appraisal, which will include exploring potential commercial solutions, and will provide a further update to stakeholders outlining next steps and timelines in the week commencing 22 January 2024.