AQW 5605/17-22

Ms Paula Bradshaw
Alliance Party
South Belfast

Tabled Date: 08/07/2020
Answered On Date: 22/07/2020
Priority Written: No

Question:
To ask the Minister of Health whether the drug Kaftrio will be made available to anyone in Northern Ireland with one Del508 gene, as is the case in the United States of America.

Answer:

I have asked the Health and Social Care Board to commence negotiation

with Vertex Pharmaceuticals to explore the potential of providing access to these drugs under the same term as the NHS England agreement.

The NHS agreement deals with the issue of access for patients with a range of rare mutations. The negotiations will consider how this will translate for similar patients in Northern Ireland. It is my hope that these drugs can be made available for all clinically suitable patients in Northern Ireland.