An earlier version of this story, which included information contained in a report by Avalere Health, incorrectly stated that the drug Kalydeco had not yet been launched for sale. In fact, Kalydeco went on sale in 2012. The new indication for cystic fibrosis that Avalere was highlighting in its report uses Kalydeco in combination with another drug, lumacaftor, and will be marketed under the name Orkambi. At the time that Avalere did its analysis and completed the first draft of the paper, the new name for this combination was not yet announced. The drug's manufacturer, Vertex Pharmaceuticals, said an FDA decision on whether to approve Orkambi is expected in July, and if it is approved the company plans to launch the drug immediately thereafter, not in 2016. Avalere said that its overall cost projections in the report are not affected.
