Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment she has made of the efficacy of Esketamine in treating people with rare neurological conditions.

Currently, authorised Esketamine products are not licenced specifically intended for treating people with rare neurological conditions. Before new medicines intended to treat a specific condition can be placed onto the United Kingdom market, they must first receive approval from the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) via the granting of a marketing authorisation (MA), commonly known as a product licence. The MHRA reviews all MA applications it receives, assessing each new medical product for its safety, quality, and efficacy in treating a condition.

It is for an applicant, namely the drug manufacturer, to apply for a MA for a medicinal product, and the MHRA does not and cannot actively seek these applications for submission.