Health Service Medical Supplies (Costs) Bill (First sitting)

Debate between Jo Churchill and James Berry

Committee Debate: 1st sitting: House of Commons
Tuesday 8th November 2016 Public Bill Committees

[James Berry (Kingston and Surbiton) (Con)]

Q We have had a submission from the British In Vitro Diagnostics Association, which says that if its products are included within the definition, it does not envisage that the new information required under clause 6 would be too burdensome and that much of the information that it would be required to provide is information that companies record anyway. Do you disagree with that analysis?

Philip Kennedy: I do disagree with that. From our members’ perspective, the data, as we understand it—we would greatly seek some clarity on exactly what data are being requested—are not routinely collected, particularly for small companies. Of course we collect data for tax purposes, productivity and all the usual parts of running a business, but data on profitability at a product level would be a huge additional burden for companies that are relatively small in scope. They would not normally do that. Even if the information was available, I am not sure how it would be analysed and reported on effectively, to give the information that is sought. We are happy to collect data to run our businesses, but the definition of what is being asked here is something that we would greatly appreciate clarity on.

[Jo Churchill (Bury St Edmunds) (Con)]

My question is to Dr Ridge and to Mr Kennedy. I have a concern about how the Bill might have an impact on pharmaceutical companies’ research and development, particularly in the light of medical innovations and how they are moving on. We do not want to stop that innovation with things such as pumps and so on. We know that we are trying to reduce the viscosity of insulin to get the pumps to work more effectively. How does this cover the case? Is it a medicine or an innovation? Can you give me a little more of your thoughts of how we pin things down? On the personalised front, are we future-proofing? Good legislation should be adaptive, I would argue, so that we do not revisit this.

Dr Ridge: In the first instance, I should make it clear that NHS England is very supportive of the proposals in the Bill and, indeed, the £5 million cut-off point around SMEs. We are also very supportive of innovation in the UK. For example, we have recently launched a scheme around innovation acceleration and the like. We want to see a thriving pharmaceutical and medical devices industry—that is, life sciences—more generally. There is no doubt about that.

The Bill will make a contribution to the financial challenge I mentioned. I am sure that in due course, with this pharmaceutical price regulation scheme due to expire at the end of 2018, there will be a negotiation in the normal way. NHS England will want to play its part around that.

The world is changing and personalised medicine is an important development for us all, but it needs to be delivered in a way that is both effective and affordable. This way of filling a bit of a problem between the PPRS voluntary and statutory scheme in the short term will also perhaps give us a basis for a further negotiation, I am sure, in the context of many things, including personalised medicine.

There is a lot more to do around getting best value and outcomes from medicines more generally in a variety of care settings, whether in hospitals, care homes or whatever it might be. We spend a lot of money on medicines and are going to be spending more, but we do not always see best outcomes, in many ways because of the way medicines are used. NHS England is looking carefully at how to optimise medicines and their use, and that will include personalised medicine.

Philip Kennedy: If I can clarify your question, I think it specifically related to insulin and the cost of that. It may be more appropriate that Mr Smith answers around pharmaceutical development by plan.

--- Later in debate ---

[James Berry]

It has not been used.

Philip Kennedy: But the certainty and clarity for how it exists is there. Increasing the uncertainty and the scope does not serve the medical device sector. We very much support its application elsewhere, but for the medical device sector, which is different and unique for all the reasons I have expressed, we would seek other mechanisms by which to achieve the end.

[Jo Churchill]

Q Thank you for that answer on the off-patent or repurposed drugs, Mr Smith. Perhaps putting them in the British National Formulary might help. What is the one thing, gentlemen, that you would do to get better value for the NHS? If costs have gone up by 59% since 2010—I think that is the statistic you threw in at the beginning—we have to do something. What is the one thing you would do to make the NHS provide better value for drugs?

Dr Ridge: The one thing.