Off-patent Drugs Bill

Marcus Fysh Excerpts

Friday 6th November 2015 Commons Chamber

[Marcus Fysh (Yeovil) (Con)]

It is a great pleasure to take part in such an important cross-party debate that has engendered such interest among leading health agencies and campaign groups, and I congratulate the hon. Member for Torfaen (Nick Thomas-Symonds) on bringing it forward.

After discussing this issue with my constituents and key stakeholders based in my constituency over the past few months, I can now say that I welcome the fact that the Bill has reached its Second Reading. I am persuaded to be a firm advocate of the proposal for the Government to step in to license and approve off-patent drugs for new uses. Support for the Bill is consistent with the advice of health organisations in my constituency, such as the Ribbon Trust, which is a partner of Breast Cancer Now. The trust was set up by a fantastic group of cancer sufferers and survivors and their families around Chard in the western part of my constituency. They do an inspiring job of looking after each other and are determined to campaign for better options and treatment.

These brave ladies and their families have convinced me of the importance for breast cancer sufferers of accessing low-cost drugs for new purposes. For example, the use of zoledronic acid would save the lives of thousands of secondary breast cancer sufferers a year. Similarly, the Treat Me Right campaign, run by the Multiple Sclerosis Society and promoted by its Yeovil and Sherborne branch, supports the Bill, as it would give 65,000 secondary progressive MS sufferers nationwide access to the first treatment that can slow the cruel disease of MS.

[Jo Stevens (Cardiff Central) (Lab)]

Of the many constituents who have written to me about this excellent Bill, two suffer from progressive MS. If the Bill becomes law, cheaper drugs would be available. Would not making this medicine available save the NHS money on the treatment of progressive diseases?

[Marcus Fysh]

That is a good point and one I will come to in a moment.

One of my Yeovil constituents, Heather Moore, wrote to me this July, asking me to vote in favour of the Bill. She wishes it to become law not only because it would give patients wider access to the benefits of new treatment options, but because it would give financial advantage to the NHS by providing some very low-cost treatments. At this time of pressure on health services from demography and budget pressure, the improvements in cost-effectiveness that could stem from the Bill are essential.

A similar private Member’s Bill, sponsored by the previous Member for Cardiff North in the last Parliament, made it to Second Reading but was regrettably stopped short of becoming law. I believe that today’s Bill outlines an even more compelling case for approval, since it specifies the need for the Government to seek licences for off-patent drugs in new indications.

[Kit Malthouse (North West Hampshire) (Con)]

Like my hon. Friend, I am extremely supportive of the Bill—it is a very sensible measure—but there is a difference between what is being proposed and what is already available. I am patron of the Andover and Rural District branch of the Multiple Sclerosis Society. As I understand it, these cheaper generic drugs are already available for prescription off label. I think the Bill is trying to make the point that that is not being advertised enough to the clinical community and that the addition of a licence for particular treatments would promulgate their effectiveness much more widely. If I have missed the point of the Bill, please forgive me, but it seems to be as much about information as the ability to prescribe. The two are not mutually exclusive. We can provide more information to clinicians and provide licences at the same time.

[Marcus Fysh]

My hon. Friend makes a good point. The General Medical Council says that, traditionally, doctors have been reluctant to do that, partly because they may be wary of prescribing drugs for new uses owing to the increased level of personal liability that they may encounter.

Providing a way to overcome this reluctance, where efficacy has been demonstrated through licensing, deals with the argument made by the Under-Secretary of State for Life Sciences, my hon. Friend the Member for Mid Norfolk (George Freeman), in the debate on the previous Bill that the current law best meets the individual clinical needs of patients. The flexibility clinicians currently have to prescribe medicines, which my hon. Friend described, is fine, and it is each doctor’s solemn prerogative, but it should not be used as a structural excuse not to pursue new treatments where they have been shown to be effective for non-clinical reasons. In practice, that can encourage a lack of consistency and assurance for the patient because of the lack of NICE approval in the form of a technology appraisal. NICE is, in fact, in a very good position to conduct studies that test efficacy on particular subsets of patients, with their consent.

A partnership in my constituency between Yeovil District Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, Somerset clinical commissioning group, South Somerset GP federation and Somerset County Council was selected this March by a rigorous NHS England process to be one of 29 partnerships spearheading new ways of working—a vanguard project in finding new models of care. This partnership, called Symphony, is looking in particular at the integration of health and social care, bringing together GPs, hospitals, community hospitals, mental health and social services, and is focused on joint commissioning based on outcomes for patients. The intention is for the lessons learned in implementing this new model to be taken on board in replicating the integration process across Somerset and beyond. We need to learn the lessons and move forward together—fast.

I believe that this vanguard, which is led by very committed and talented people in each partner organisation—I congratulate and encourage them today—could act as a leader not only in developing this new care model, but in working with NICE in its role under the Bill to conduct technology appraisals for new uses of off-patent drugs.

This has particular application to one of the most difficult issues of our time—the fact that our population is ageing rapidly. There are areas of Somerset, as elsewhere in the country, where a majority of people are of retirement age—and that is likely to increase dramatically over coming years. The management of conditions that are becoming more prevalent as our population ages must be taken forward with every tool available to us.

A report written by the governors at Yeovil district hospital in October last year shows that there has been an increase in the number of local patients with suspected cancer. Indeed, Somerset has one of the highest proportions of cancer prevalence in England. This may come as no surprise, as it is a very attractive place to live and work, and it has attracted many people moving from other parts of Britain, with many choosing to retire in the area.

I strongly support the new cancer drug fund that this Government have implemented, which has given more cutting edge treatment options to those with cancer, but we can go further by increasing access to new treatments through off-patent drugs, which can be much cheaper.

[Mr Christopher Chope (Christchurch) (Con)]

My hon. Friend, like me, strongly supports the Bill. Time is of the essence, so I think the best thing we can do as supporters of the Bill is to reserve what we wish to say until Committee, so that the Government can respond to this very important measure. [Laughter.]

[Marcus Fysh]

I thank my hon. Friend, who makes a good point—I am almost finished!

Given the seriousness of our healthcare challenges, I believe the Government should seek licences for off-patent drugs in new indications, thus increasing equality of access to proven treatments at an affordable price for more individuals and their families across our nation. I commend the Bill to the House.

--- Later in debate ---

[Alistair Burt]

Yes, of course. Why would a Government not wish to do that? I quite understand the hon. Gentleman’s point. I am trying to explain that that is exactly what happens now, and that to suggest otherwise carries a degree of risk.

[Marcus Fysh (Yeovil) (Con)]

Am I right in thinking that the Government’s position—it may from one point of view be a valid one that needs to be considered—is that what we are saying today does not affect the current prescription of off-patent drugs? I do not quite understand why the Government will not at least allow us the space to try to fix this Bill and try to make it law.

[Alistair Burt]

When I get a chance to make a little progress, I can explain to my hon. Friend why that is the case.