On Tuesday, May 13, Vertex met in Toronto with the Health Ministers from Alberta and
the Yukon as part of our ongoing discussions regarding the public reimbursement of
KALYDECO in Canada.
“While we had a lengthy discussion, we have not yet reached an agreement with the
provincial and territorial governments, despite the fact that our proposal is as good as or
better than the agreements in place in 15 countries around the world where people with
CF are receiving the medicine through public reimbursement,” said Stuart Arbuckle,
Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer for Vertex. “We are extremely
disappointed that today’s meeting did not result in an agreement to allow the eligible
children and adults with CF in Canada to receive this medicine through public
reimbursement. People with CF are still waiting for access to KALYDECO, and this
process is taking much longer than they expect and deserve.”
Based on the meeting, both parties have committed to further discussions this week.
In Canada, we continue to provide KALYDECO at no charge to people with CF who are
very sick as part of a compassionate use or expanded access program while we wait for
provincial and territorial governments to make a decision regarding public
reimbursement. Vertex will continue to provide the medicine to these patients while
reimbursement discussions are ongoing. Further, for the patients receiving KALYDECO
under private insurance in Canada, Vertex will continue to provide patient support
services, including financial assistance to eligible patients who need it.
KALYDECO was approved by Health Canada in November 2012.