PARLIAMENTARY WRITTEN QUESTION
Drugs: Licensing (4 September 2015)

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department has taken to act upon the outcomes of the stakeholder roundtable discussion it convened on 11 February 2015 on access to off-patent drugs.

Asked by:
Nick Thomas-Symonds (Labour)

The Department convened a roundtable event on 11 February 2015 to discuss what action, could most expeditiously be taken to ensure that robust evidence about new uses for existing drugs is produced, disseminated and then used to inform clinical decision making about these medicines.

A number of areas were identified where further work could help improve matters, including:

- supporting clinicians to identify the latest robust evidence on patient care and take it up in their own practice; and

- supporting and mapping clear pathways for innovators and those who want to "re-purpose" drugs.

Officials have since been engaging with stakeholders to progress outputs associated with this event.

Answered by:
George Freeman (Conservative)
9 September 2015