NHS: Drugs
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to provide patients with continuity of access to compassionate medicines following the withdrawal by some pharmaceutical companies of early access scheme medicines.
Answered by Preet Kaur Gill
The Government recognises the importance of enabling timely access to innovative medicines, particularly for patients with rare and life‑threatening conditions, including children with relapsed or rare cancers.
The availability of medicines through company‑led compassionate or early access schemes is a commercial decision for manufacturers. Participation in such programmes is determined locally by National Health Service trusts, taking account of clinical capacity, resourcing requirements, and patient need, and the Department does not direct their use. NHS England has issued guidance to the NHS to support decisions on participation in free of charge schemes such as company-led early access programmes. The guidance is available at the following link:
More broadly, the Government continues to work with the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, and NHS England to support early access to innovative therapies, including through the Early Access to Medicines Scheme and wider access pathways such as the Innovative Licensing and Access Pathway and the Innovative Medicines Fund, which aim to accelerate patient access to clinically and cost‑effective treatments.
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