Harris to hold CF drug talks with British health secretary

Health minister seeking co-ordinated approach among countries who have rejected public funding of the drug

Minister for Health, Simon Harris, is going to hold talks with British health secretary Jeremy Hunt on the cystic fibrosis drug Orkambi this week Pic: RollingNews.ie

The Minister for Health, Simon Harris, is going to hold talks with British health secretary Jeremy Hunt on the cystic fibrosis drug Orkambi this week as negotiations between the HSE and the drug’s manufacturer restart.

The HSE’s drugs committee had decided that Orkambi does not deliver enough benefit to patients to justify the €159,000 per patient, per year that its manufacturer, Vertex, has sought. But the HSE will restart negotiations with the makers ...