EU: Healthcare

Lord Ryder of Wensum Excerpts

Wednesday 11th January 2012 Lords Chamber

[Lord Ryder of Wensum]

My Lords, I congratulate the noble Lord, Lord Kakkar, on opening his debate with such clarity and force.

I am chairman of the Institute of Cancer Research, a college of the University of London. We are now regarded as the leading cancer research organisation in the world and are judged on the discovery and development of drugs. The clinical trials directive has harmed us. It lacks harmonisation across and even within countries. What is called a clinical trial in country A may be an observational study in country B. Sometimes drugs within a protocol are deemed investigational medicinal products instead of supportive medication or routine therapy. Red tape abounds, inspections are inconsistent and heavy-handed, and high-quality clinical trials are stifled by the directive. It handicaps innovation, causes delays with new trials, obstructs our competitive edge over the USA and other countries, and renders us a less attractive location for trials. It damages our pharmaceutical industry—Britain’s most successful manufacturing sector. The Americans are counting their good fortune, and soon the Chinese and the Indians will be accumulating theirs.

Trials are cornerstones of the work with our sister organisation, the Royal Marsden Hospital. The blame for the follies inflicted on us radiates at the feet of the EU, and I urge the Government to press harder for revisions to the directive.