Vertex continues to complain about UK struggles

24 August 2018

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: VRTX) is still restless over the lack of a reimbursement agreement for Orkambi (lumacaftor/ivacaftor) in the UK, 1,000 days after the drug was initially green-lit by the European Medicines Agency.

In a statement released on Friday, the latest in a series of disgruntled briefs against the UK's regulatory authorities, the Boston, USA company described the National Institute for Care Excellence (NICE) — the UK's pharmaceutical pricing watchdog — as "not fit for purpose."

"We have reached out to Prime Minister Theresa May, Secretary of State for Health and Social Care Matt Hancock and Head of NHS England Simon Stevens to offer to negotiate and find a path forward," the company said in a statement. "To date, and for more than a month now, those requests to meet have not been accepted."

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