Will the Cabinet Secretary make a statement on the availability of Orkambi in Wales?
We believe everyone should have access to cost-effective medicines to meet their clinical needs. To achieve this, we are guided by the recommendations of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) and the All-Wales Medicines Strategy Group.
NICE has not recommended lumacaftor/ivacaftor (Orkambi®) for routine use in the NHS in Wales or England; nor has the Scottish Medicines Consortium recommended its use in Scotland. Neither appraisal body recommended its use due to the very high cost charged by the manufacturer and the uncertainties of the longer term benefits of this treatment.
In December last year, NICE re-issued its Technology Appraisal guidance under its “Do Not Do” guidance, emphasising this treatment should not be made routinely available.
In terms of access to medicines, we must ensure our finite resources enable patients to access routinely those medicines that have proven clinical benefits in balance with their cost. Orkambi® is therefore not available for routine use in Wales.