STAT Plus: Vertex and Canada hold talks over cystic fibrosis drug, but a deal for newer medicine remains out of reach
The icy relationship between Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) and the Canadian government is showing signs of thawing a wee bit as the pan-Canadian Pricing Alliance opened talks over one of the company’s cystic fibrosis drugs, a move that comes shortly after the agency reached an agreement on a different Vertex medicine for the illness.
The Alliance, which conducts joint negotiations on behalf of the provincial, territorial, and federal governments in the country, decided to proceed with the talks for the drug Orkambi in hopes of breaking a long-standing logjam with Vertex over its cystic fibrosis medicines. The clash has been closely tracked by patients and their families, who say they are being treated as pawns.
