Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the paper entitled, The cost of severe haemophilia in Europe: the CHESS study published in the Orphanet journal of rare diseases in 2017, what assessment his Department has made of the reasons for (i) outcomes for patients and (ii) investment in treatments are lower in the UK than other EU5 countries; and what steps he is taking to improve treatment outcomes in the UK.

No such assessment has been made. The cost of blood factor products in the United Kingdom reflect successful commercial activities on price and clinical management such as universal access to prophylactic treatment regimens. These commercial activities enable the UK to achieve value for money when investing in providing access to treatment.

The UK attracts many clinical studies in haemophilia, including those for new drugs or therapies which reduce the need for factor products altogether, based on its success in respect of managing haemophilia with prophylactic regimens.