Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they intend to review how they can incentivise manufacturers of generic medicines to ensure off-patent medicines can be repurposed and made available to patients.

The Association of Medical Research Charities (AMRC) has led a group of stakeholders which has produced a framework to facilitate the adoption of off-patent repurposed drugs into National Health Service clinical practice where there is robust evidence to support it and where this would benefit patients. This, alongside some recommendations which will further support drug repurposing, was published in their report last year, Facilitating adoption of off-patent, repurposed medicines into NHS clinical practice. A copy is attached.

The Department has supported this work and is playing its part in implementing the recommendations which fall within its area of responsibility. We have no plans to further review how generic manufacturers can be incentivised. The AMRC’s report includes two recommendations which relate to incentives for generic manufacturers which are for a range of other stakeholders to drive forward. However, we took an important step forward in incentivising medicines manufacturers to repurpose drugs in ensuring that the Accelerated Access Pathway announced last November is open to repurposed drugs.