Asked by: Baroness Rawlings (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the expiration of the New START treaty; and what implications of this they anticipate for nuclear arms control and disarmament.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
The New START Treaty was a bilateral agreement between the United States and Russian Federation; any replacement treaty is a matter for the US and Russia. Genuine and verifiable strategic arms control among the largest Nuclear Weapons States can be a positive step for global security. However, following Russia's decision to suspend participation in New START verification measures in 2023, future approaches need to be based on concrete, and verifiable actions. The UK regularly raises issues related to strategic risk reduction through the P5 process.
Asked by: Baroness Rawlings (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to include information about the full cost of medications during prescription collections.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
There are currently no plans to introduce measures that detail the actual cost of medicines, for instance by displaying this on the medicine label, to patients collecting their National Health Service prescriptions.
Asked by: Baroness Rawlings (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government when they expect to announce who will be appointed as the new Chair of Historic England.
Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay - Shadow Minister (Culture, Media and Sport)
The process to appoint a new Chairman of Historic England is ongoing. An appointment will be made and announced in due course, in line with the Governance Code for Public Appointments.
Asked by: Baroness Rawlings (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many drugs which have received regulatory approval since January 2019 are only available through the NHS and cannot be prescribed by private physicians.
Answered by Lord Kamall - Shadow Minister (Health and Social Care)
All authorised medicines and vaccines regulated by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) can be prescribed by a prescribing clinician as a private prescription. However, the decision to place a medicine or vaccine on the private market is a matter for the individual manufacturer. Information on drugs which have received the MHRA’s approval and solely available through the National Health Service is not held centrally.
Asked by: Baroness Rawlings (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what legislation requires Public Health England to provide antiviral treatments for COVID-19 to only those people with particular health conditions.
Answered by Lord Kamall - Shadow Minister (Health and Social Care)
The pharmaceutical companies producing antivirals have not made these treatments commercially available to the private health care sector in the United Kingdom. These products have been procured by the Department and are only available through the National Health Service.
The Department has agreed contracts with MSD and Pfizer to ensure that the UK has sufficient antiviral medication to treat those who are likely to benefit. There is no legislation which sets out the patient cohorts to receive antiviral treatments for COVID-19. Clinically eligible cohorts have been determined by an independent expert group commissioned by the Department and included in a clinical policy agreed by the UK Chief Medical Officers.
Asked by: Baroness Rawlings (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what contractual arrangements they have, if any, with pharmaceutical companies that prevent the sale of antiviral drugs for COVID-19 by private clinicians.
Answered by Lord Kamall - Shadow Minister (Health and Social Care)
The pharmaceutical companies producing antivirals have not made these treatments commercially available to the private health care sector in the United Kingdom. These products have been procured by the Department and are only available through the National Health Service.
The Department has agreed contracts with MSD and Pfizer to ensure that the UK has sufficient antiviral medication to treat those who are likely to benefit. There is no legislation which sets out the patient cohorts to receive antiviral treatments for COVID-19. Clinically eligible cohorts have been determined by an independent expert group commissioned by the Department and included in a clinical policy agreed by the UK Chief Medical Officers.
Asked by: Baroness Rawlings (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of (1) the use of (a) molnupiravir, and (b) Paxlovid, as antiviral treatments for COVID-19 in other countries, and (2) the rules for administering such treatments, when considering how to administer and distribute those treatments in England.
Answered by Lord Kamall - Shadow Minister (Health and Social Care)
Molnupiravir and nirmatrelvir + ritonavir (co-packaged as Paxlovid) are available for the treatment of COVID-19 in multiple countries. The Antivirals and Therapeutics Taskforce is engaging with international organisations and nations to share learning on the use and deployment of therapeutics and antivirals, including molnupiravir and Paxlovid.
Eligibility for oral antivirals has been determined by an independent expert group commissioned by the Department and included in a clinical policy agreed by the United Kingdom Chief Medical Officers. This policy is based on evidence that individuals with specific health conditions are more likely to progress to severe disease. In the community, eligible patients have access to oral antivirals through COVID Medicines Delivery Units in England, with equivalent arrangements in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. In addition, Paxlovid is available to eligible patients who contract COVID-19 whilst in hospital. We are continuing to monitor international use and administration of these treatments to inform the clinical policy.
Asked by: Baroness Rawlings (Conservative - Life peer)
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.
Answered by Lord Kamall - Shadow Minister (Health and Social Care)
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.
Asked by: Baroness Rawlings (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Kamall on 24 March (HL7023), why antiviral treatments for COVID-19 are not commercially available; and what assessment they have made of the effectiveness of such treatments.
Answered by Lord Kamall - Shadow Minister (Health and Social Care)
The pharmaceutical companies producing antivirals have not made these treatments commercially available to the private health care sector in the United Kingdom. The supply of the COVID-19 oral antiviral treatments approved by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency is commercially available to the Government for National Health Service patients and the devolved administrations. Pharmaceutical companies are responsible for the commercial decisions on the availability of their products.
The Merk Sharp and Dohme clinical trial of molnupiravir showed that the drug reduces the relative risk of hospitalisation or death by 30%. Pfizer’s trial of nirmatrelvir+ritonavir showed an 89% reduction in hospitalisation or death compared to a placebo. The PANORAMIC national study will inform our understanding on how oral antiviral treatments perform in the UK, where the majority of the population is vaccinated. This will inform future decisions on access for patients in the UK.
Asked by: Baroness Rawlings (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Kamall on 24 March (HL7023), why they are retaining stocks of COVID-19 antiviral treatments.
Answered by Lord Kamall - Shadow Minister (Health and Social Care)
The Government has secured 4.98 million patient courses of oral antiviral treatments. As a result, there are supplies of oral antivirals molnupiravir and nirmatrelvir+ritonavir held in the United Kingdom with regular deliveries to ensure sufficient treatment for patients. These are available to eligible patients in the community at highest risk of developing severe disease through COVID Medicines Delivery Units in England and equivalent arrangements in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. In addition, nirmatrelvir + ritonavir is available to eligible patients who contract COVID-19 whilst in hospital.
We continue to monitor clinical trial results to understand which patient cohorts may benefit from oral antivirals, including the PANORAMIC national study. The results will inform our understanding of the performance of oral antivirals where the majority of the population is vaccinated and future decisions on patient access in the UK.