Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the comments by Doddie Weir, reported on 1 December, concerning his frustration that there have been no new drugs to treat motor neurone disease developed in the last 22 years; and what steps they are taking to promote research into such treatments.

There are currently no new drugs under assessment for a marketing authorisation to treat Motor Neurone Disease (MND). The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has approved 16 trials in the last five years in the indication of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). Three of these trials remain active, the remainder have completed or ended early.

The Department funds research mainly through the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR). The Medical Research Council (MRC), a research funding body which receives its grant in aid from the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, also funds medical research.

The usual practice of the NIHR and of the MRC is not to ring-fence funds for expenditure on particular topics: research proposals in all areas compete for the funding available. The NIHR welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including MND. The NIHR Clinical Research Network (CRN) is currently recruiting patients to 24 trials and studies in MND. The NIHR Clinical Research Network is developing and nurturing relationships with industry, so that the United Kingdom remains attractive as a site for the innovative therapies.

The MRC currently spends approximately £5.3 million per year on research relating to MND. The MRC, as part of the Network of Centres of Excellence in Neurodegeneration, has recently made available up to £1 million to support research in the UK. The current ‘Pathfinder call’ aims to stimulate new and unconventional approaches and creative solutions to the challenges of neurodegeneration research by undertaking high-risk/high-payoff research and is open to researchers who are involved in MND research.