Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans NHS England has to implement gene therapy treatments.

As set out in the NHS Long Term Plan, the National Health Service is committed to supporting the timely introduction of the most clinically and cost effective treatments for patients. Cell and gene therapies have the potential to provide great benefits for patients, and the NHS is leading the world in creating access to these treatments.

For example, patients in England were among the first in the world to benefit from CAR T cell therapy, which uses their own immune system to fight cancers. The NHS will also now be funding voretigene neparvovec, also known as Luxturna, a revolutionary form of new treatment for blindness in children.

The NHS is working with the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence and other partners in the Accelerated Access Collaborative to take a proactive approach in preparing for cell and gene therapies and other innovative treatments.