Covid-19

Baroness Walmsley Excerpts

Thursday 23rd April 2020 Lords Chamber

[Lord Bethell]

My noble friend Lord Lucas is quite right about IP, although I bear testimony to the private companies and major corporations which have reacted incredibly generously and enthusiastically by supporting the Government during this crisis. Our supply chains absolutely need to be reviewed. Resilience is clearly more important now than it has ever been. When we look at the way in which our medical, pharmaceutical and device supply chains are put together, they will look quite different in years to come.

[Baroness Walmsley (LD)]

My Lords, the Secretary of State said that he would mention treatments, but he focused only on vaccinations, which are of course important. However, I would like to ask about progress on developing antiviral drugs and the use of serum treatments, about which I have heard encouraging reports. Can the Minister say whether there are any plans to ask recovered Covid-19 patients to donate blood after a suitable recovery period so that the serum could be used to treat very sick patients and help them recover?

[Lord Bethell]

The noble Baroness is entirely right. Serum offers an encouraging opportunity, not least because it is a proven technology. The national blood transfusion service has been asked to start investigating how to collect serum, and a grant for the purchase of new machines to help that has already been made.