During a widely anticipated U.K. Parliamentary hearing, Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) chief executive Jeff Leiden promised to offer “new ideas” for breaking a long-running stalemate over access to a cystic fibrosis medicine when he meets with a government official next week.
“I’m going to come to the meeting with new ideas,” Leiden said about his planned meeting on Monday with Secretary of State Matt Hancock. “And meantime, we would guarantee access to patients at a discount to our list price. I want to get (a pair of government health agencies) back to the table. There’s no reason we can’t find a solution here in England.”
His remarks were made after more than three years in which the drug maker and the agencies have fought over pricing. The clash has riled patients and their families, who claim they are pawns in a larger global battle between cash-strapped governments and the pharmaceutical industry over the cost of medicines (you can watch the entire hearing right here).
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