Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Kamall on 28 March (HL7225), why decisions on the deployment of antiviral treatments for COVID-19 for people beyond the highest risk groups are tied to the outcomes of the PANORAMIC study; and when they expect such decisions to be made.

We are ensuring that deployment of antiviral treatments is supported by comprehensive data on clinical and cost-effectiveness to ensure healthcare professionals and patients have full confidence in prescribing and receiving these treatments.

The PANORAMIC study was established following a recommendation from an expert clinical panel. The expert panel advised that additional information should be gathered on which patients would benefit most from antiviral treatments in the United Kingdom, given high rates of vaccination. Previous trials have predominantly used unvaccinated participants.

Results for the first antiviral treatment, molnupiravir, are likely to be available in summer 2022, when a decision on clinical access will be made by an expert panel. The second antiviral treatment, Paxlovid, is expected to enter the PANORAMIC study in April 2022.