Jenny Agutter wants the NHS to reach an agreement over life-changing cystic fibrosis drugs.
The ‘Call The Midwife’ star – whose niece Rachel McGrath and great-nephew Albie suffer from the debilitating genetic condition – has urged the UK government to step up talks with US drugs firm Vertex to find a breakthrough in their stalemate over the price of the treatment.
She told the Daily Mail newspaper: "I want a deal to be done for Orkambi, Symdeko and the rest of Vertex’s pipeline of corrector drugs now but understand how difficult this is.
"I have no doubt a deal will be struck and hope it will be sooner rather than later.
"The cost is high for these drugs but so are the costs of having someone in hospital as a result of lung damage from multiple, continuous infections, the cost of a lung transplant and inability to work and contribute to society."
Jenny understands the company is wanting to "run a profitable business", but she hopes a middle ground can be found.
She added: "It was really a shock [when Albie was diagnosed]. Georgie [Albie’s mother and Rachel’s sister], was taken aback. He seemed a very healthy boy.
"Caroline, my sister-in-law, was deeply upset because she had been through it all with Rachel.
"A cure for CF is possible in Albie’s lifetime, but it’s about having the money to find it. The medications being developed, the work going on to see if they can change the faulty gene, improvements in physio, are making a huge difference to the median age [of survival]."
Jenny Agutter urges NHS to reach agreement over cystic fibrosis treatments
