Frustrated cystic fibrosis patients await PBS subsidy to 'life-changing' drug

In the days after Queensland mother Ella Sawyer gave birth, her baby daughter Evie didn't gain a lot of weight. Key points: Cystic Fibrosis sufferers are calling for 'life changing' drug Trikafta to be added to the PBS The medicine currently costs patients nearly $300,000 per year Drug company Vertex says it wants to offer government funded access to Trikafta as quickly as possible "As she was a breastfed baby, doctors were saying to me, 'You know it's very hard to tell how much they're getting," Ms Sawyer said. Cystic Fibrosis Australia chief executive Nettie Burke said the lack of access to Trikafta was putting lives at risk. 'A whole lot of babies being born' Cystic Fibrosis Australia CEO Nettie Burke said if Trikafta was listed on the PBS, it would save patients hundreds-of-thousands of dollars. Vertex said it wants to find "flexible and creative solutions" to ensure all 2,200 eligible patients who can benefit from treatment have government-funded access to Trikafta as quickly as possible.