Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of (1) the public health impact and (2) the role of UK funding in Product Development Partnerships over the last ten years in tackling poverty-associated diseases such as Tuberculosis.

UK Government funding by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office to Product Development Partnerships has contributed to 66 new health technologies, including diagnostics, drugs and vaccines being available for diseases and health threats that are underserved by commercial markets. These products have reached over 2.4 billion people around the world. This includes the game changing GenXpert technology to detect TB in 4 hours compared to several weeks previously. The technology was subsequently progressed to diagnose Ebola and COVID-19. This technology was developed with our core support by the Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics and their partners. Since 2005, we are also one of the major donors to the TB Alliance, which has developed new treatments for TB, including the first child-friendly drug regimen and novel treatments for multi-drug resistant TB, such as Pretomanid, which, in combination with 2 other drugs, offers a highly effective, shorter and less toxic treatment option.

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office is a leading supporter of Product Development Partnerships, which bring together partners from the public, private and philanthropic sectors to develop new products in a way that de-links the cost of development from the final cost of product.