Sir, – I welcome the decision by the HSE to approve funding for Orkambi, the new drug to treat cystic fibrosis. I hope that many people benefit from it in the coming years. However, I am disappointed by Micheál Martin’s comments when he praised Cystic Fibrosis Ireland but not the HSE’s Corporate Pharmaceutical Unit (CPU), which actually brokered the deal.
While the persistence of CF Ireland’s lobby must be admired, it is the CPU which ultimately struck a deal with Vertex Pharmaceuticals.
The delay in agreeing the deal was not out of callousness, as portrayed by much of the mainstream media, but rather by the relentless efforts of the HSE to reach a fair price so that the Irish taxpayer was not exploited by a multi-billion dollar corporation.
It is unfortunate that the final agreed price must remain confidential due to the “commercially sensitive” nature of the deal. – Yours, etc,
:fill(white):background_color(white)/static.themebuilder.aws.arc.pub/irishtimes/1647534191476.png)
HENRY ROBERTS,
Dublin 4.