Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government which pharmaceutical companies have informed NHS England about the withdrawal of their funding for molecular testing; and what plans NHS England has in place to ensure continuity of funding and access for affected patients.

NHS England is leading a range of activities relating to the future of molecular diagnostics which over time will begin to inform new approaches to the prediction and prevention of disease as well as the application of new targeted therapies, in support of delivering the ambitions set out in the 5 Year Forward View. These include: the re-procurement of Genomics Local Laboratory Hubs; the establishment of a Task Force to oversee development of a new national strategy for cancer; and the coordination of the NHS contribution to the 100,000 Genomes Project which includes the building of a new molecular pathology network. In addition to this, NHS England is conducting analysis to clarify legacy arrangements for commissioning molecular diagnostics and identify future commissioning mechanisms.