Cystic Fibrosis Ireland group dismay after drug deemed not ‘cost-effective’

Cystic Fibrosis Ireland has expressed dismay at a recommendation to the HSE that a drug to treat the condition is not “cost-effective”.

The National Centre for Pharmacoeconomics evaluates the benefit and costs of medical technologies and provides advice to the HSE. It was asked to assess the drug Orkambi, a treatment which Cystic Fibrosis Ireland said is “groundbreaking” and could benefit 500 CF sufferers.

The centre said “lumacaftor/ ivacaftor (Orkambi) is not considered cost-effective for the treatment of cystic fibrosis in the cohort of patients 12 years and older who are homozygous for the F508del mutation in the CFTR gene”.