Pharmaceutical Industry

Debate between George Freeman and Catherine McKinnell

Wednesday 21st March 2012 Commons Chamber

[Catherine McKinnell]

Absolutely, and that is one of the key issues on which I hope the Minister will respond. It should be a key consideration in the way the Government take forward their active industrial strategy.

[George Freeman (Mid Norfolk) (Con)]

I am grateful to the hon. Lady for giving way, as I appreciate that time is precious. She has referred to the systemic and structural changes in the industry. Does she accept, though, that at the heart of that is a profound problem of the productivity of the traditional model of pharmaceutical drug discovery and development? That means that, although this country can have a bright future in the new models of discovery in translational and experimental medicine, bringing industry, hospitals and universities back together—her city of Newcastle has a lot to offer there—the industry is struggling with the traditional models of discovery and development, which might well mean the closure of yesterday’s plant and the recycling of talent and expertise within the location into new centres of drug discovery.

[Catherine McKinnell]

I appreciate the hon. Gentleman’s point, but I cannot refer to Sanofi as yesterday’s plans, when it is open currently and there are 90 days of consultation in which to turn the situation around. That is an important point for my debate today. I nevertheless thank him for his intervention.

Retaining our world-class status in pharmaceuticals means ensuring that the Government work actively and intelligently with businesses such as Sanofi to retain research and development and manufacturing capability. There is huge global potential here: as the world’s prosperity increases, with a growing and ageing population, Sanofi’s products made in Newcastle will be in demand. The biggest questions of all are, of course, those raised by the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills. Where is the clear and confident message about the way Britain will earn its living? When will the Government start to act decisively on their call for an industrial strategy?

In the meantime, there are many practical issues for my constituents, which I urge the Minister to address by way of a Government-backed taskforce. Pfizer staff received a package of support, including counselling, careers advice, CV writing and retraining. What support will Sanofi be able to offer its loyal employees in acquiring new skills? What are the intentions for the site? The Discovery park in Sandwich is being heavily promoted and marketed to attract investment. In the longer term, how can we get into the north-east the sort of jobs and small and medium-sized enterprises that the Minister talked about last year?