U.K. Parliament to debate NHS access for Vertex's Orkambi

The U.K. Parliament's House of Commons will debate on March 19 a petition to make cystic fibrosis drug Orkambi ivacaftor/lumacaftor from Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:VRTX) available on the NHS. The U.K.'s NICE recommended against approval of Orkambi in 2016 based on high estimated incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (ICERs). NICE's next review of Orkambi is in July 2019.

The debate comes on the heels of a separate announcement from Vertex in February saying it proposed to the U.K. government a "portfolio approach" to access for its CF drugs that would "provide budget certainty and value to the NHS."...