Cystic fibrosis drug is not cost effective, says NICE

A drug that would benefit nearly 3000 patients with cystic fibrosis should not be made available on the NHS, says the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) in new guidelines.1

Although the drug lumacaftor-ivacaftor (Orkambi; Vertex Pharmaceuticals, Boston, MA, USA) was shown to reduce hospital admission and the use of antibiotics among people with cystic fibrosis, the short term benefits to lung function were modest and the long term benefits were uncertain, said NICE.

The drug costs £104 000 (€131 000; $147 000) …