(Bloomberg) -- Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. has reached a pricing deal for its cystic fibrosis drugs with the National Health Service in England, ending a yearslong campaign by patients to secure access to the medicines. 

England’s drug pricing regulator, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), recommended the three drugs for patients with cystic fibrosis who have certain gene mutations in its final draft guidance Thursday. 

It’s a shift for NICE, which said in draft guidance last year that the drugs were too expensive to spend NHS funds on.

The medicines — Kaftrio, Symkevi and Orkambi — help improve the lung function of patients with cystic fibrosis and have radically changed the prognosis for patients diagnosed with the disease. However, they are pricey, with a list price of £8,346.30 ($10,586) for a 56-tablet pack of Kaftrio. 

The drugs have been available to many patients in England under an interim deal agreed in 2020, but last year’s draft guidance threatened to curtail access for more patients. Since then, campaigners have pushed Vertex and the NHS to agree on a price to allow the drugs to be recommended through the NHS. 

Thursday’s decision is “a fantastic moment” for many patients with the disease and their families, said David Ramsden, chief executive officer of Cystic Fibrosis Trust. Ramsden said it ends the uncertainty and helps to ensure that “everyone who can benefit is able to access these vital medicines – now and in the future.”

Vertex shares were little changed in morning trading in New York. The stock has risen about 15% so far this year.

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