Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 6 January 2025 to Question 20760 on Pancreatic Enzyme Replacement Therapy, whether he has had recent discussions with Cabinet colleagues on increasing access to the raw ingredients required for the production of pancreatic enzyme replacement therapy.

There have been no recent discussions with Cabinet Office colleagues on increasing the United Kingdom’s manufacturing capacity of pancreatic enzyme replacement therapy (PERT) or increasing access to the raw ingredients required for the production of PERT. However, we have established incentives to encourage UK life sciences manufacturing, including via the Life Science Innovative Manufacturing Fund (LSIMF). The LSIMF is now live and open to Expressions of Interest from all life science manufacturers, with formal application windows open on a quarterly basis, the next being in February 2025. The Government has committed up to £520 million to support businesses investing in life science manufacturing projects in the UK, and this would be open to applicants interested in setting up PERT manufacture in the UK.

Department officials continue to engage with all suppliers of PERT to boost production to mitigate the supply issue. Increased volumes of PERT are expected for 2025, and specialist importers have sourced unlicensed stock to assist in covering the gap in the market. In December, the Department issued further management advice to healthcare professionals. This directs clinicians to unlicensed imports when licensed stock is unavailable and includes actions for integrated care boards to ensure local mitigation plans are implemented. The Department, in collaboration with NHS England, has created a public facing page to include the latest update on PERT availability and easily accessible prescribing advice.