Help NHS obtain cystic fibrosis drug, ministers urged

Exclusive: Ministers urged to consider revoking patent on life-extending Orkambi, which NHS cannot afford

• The patients facing shorter lives due to drug's expense

Campaigners are calling on the government to urgently intervene over the cost of a drug that could extend the lives of thousands of children but which manufacturers have set at 105,000 per patient per year, a price the NHS cannot afford.

For more than two years an emotive battle has been raging over Orkambi, which tackles the cause of cystic fibrosis. Previously, children with the genetic disorder did not often survive to adulthood and even today, half will be dead before the age of 32. Orkambi could extend lives, but negotiations over the price the NHS should pay have been in stalemate since July, with the pharma company that makes it refusing to reduce the price.