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How to buy the drugs the NHS can't afford - BBC Newsnight
Posted
September 13, 2019
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September 13, 2019
4,959
81
9
1.81%
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4:36Now PlayingThe Scottish government has struck an agreement with a pharmaceutical company to make two "life-changing" cystic fibrosis (CF) drugs available to patients in Scotland.
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The five-year agreement has been reached with pharmaceutical company Vertex over the use of Orkambi and Symkevi. The drugs improve lung health but were rejected for NHS use in August 2019 because they were not deemed cost-effective.
The medication normally costs £100,000 per patient, per year. The Scottish government said it had secured a "confidential discount" from the manufacturer.
Patients in other parts of the UK are still not able to access the treatment, with campaigners calling for an end to the "postcode lottery".
In June, Deborah Cohen met up with patients and their parents who were banding together to import generic copies of CF drugs.Now, Deborah speaks to the parents who have travelled 7,000 miles to Argentina to buy a cheaper version of the medicine.
Newsnight is the BBC's flagship news and current affairs TV programme - with analysis, debate, exclusives, and robust interviews.
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