Health minister criticised for blocking Off-Patent Drugs Bill debate
pharmafile | November 9, 2015 | News story | Research and Development, Sales and Marketing | Alistair Burt, Breast Cancer Now, MS Society, Off-Patent Drugs Bill
A Parliamentary Bill backing the wider use of off-patent drugs has been kicked into the long grass after the Government withheld its support, preventing a vote on the Bill.
The Off-Patent Drugs Bill was debated in Parliament, having been proposed for a second reading by Nick Thomas-Symonds MP. The Bill seeks to remove the barriers to cheaper drugs being repurposed and made available to treat patients in different clinical indications.
It would do this by putting into UK law a duty on the Government to step in where there is no incentive for a pharma company to act, and seek to license and approve off-patent, repurposed drugs for use on the NHS.
The Bill had cross-party support ahead of its Parliamentary debate in the House of Commons. As it has not been proposed by the Government, it only had a limited amount of time to be debated in Parliament, or has to be shelved.
However Conservative health minister Alistair Burt spoke at length – for 27 of the 30 minutes allocated to the debate the Bill – in what has been labelled a deliberate attempt to prevent legitimate debate, and force the Bill to be shelved.
The Bill did not go to a vote – and will not progress – as a result of the Government withholding its support. Following today’s outcome, the Off-patent Drugs Bill remains on the order paper, should the Government decide to revive the Bill.
Baroness Delyth Morgan, chief executive of Breast Cancer Now, says: “We are extremely disappointed that, because MPs were unable to sufficiently debate the Bill in the time allowed, it did not pass to committee stage today. The Government chose not to support the Bill and as a consequence refused to allow it to go to a vote.
“In not seriously engaging with this important issue, the Government has chosen to ignore the views of patients and clinicians. This is a missed opportunity to ensure routine access to crucial treatments and also to address the systemic issue so that repurposed drugs can be made routinely available in future. Today the Government has let patients down and missed the chance to save lives at little cost to the NHS.
“The Bill had widespread support across the medical community and from thousands of members of the public, and – in the absence of any serious alternative – we felt that it was the best option available to ensure fair, routine access to treatments across a whole range of medical conditions, including those that could prevent breast cancer developing and spreading.
“The Minister claimed in his speech that the Government has been pursuing a non-legislative solution to the issue of off-patent drugs. We will be watching closely, and strongly urge the Government to honour this commitment, and turn words into action on this serious issue.”
Michelle Mitchell, chief executive of the MS Society, says: “The Government needs to stop dragging its heels on this crucial issue and start taking action – it has missed two opportunities to pave the way for cheap, promising drugs that could make such a difference to the lives of so many people with MS. But the Government has pledged to work with organisations such as the MS Society to find a solution. We will continue to campaign to ensure that it lives up to that promise.”
Lilian Anekwe
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