A slight thaw may be developing in the frosty relationship between Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) and the U.K. government as the drug maker has apparently agreed to provide data for a cost-effectiveness review of its cystic fibrosis treatments.
In remarks to the U.K. Parliament, Matt Hancock, the secretary of state for health and social care, noted the company has “committed to providing the data needed for an objective assessment of the drugs,” following a meeting that he recently held with Vertex chief executive Jeff Leiden.
Last summer, Vertex took the unusual step of declining to provide information about a newer treatment, called Symdeco, to the government’s cost-effectiveness watchdog. In doing so, the drug maker delayed the approval process used to make the medicine available to patients.
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This note by our scribe “The move — if Vertex follows through —” neatly sums up this conflict. Let’s hope Vertex does deliver – and then the families can start “daring to dream” again.