Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will commission research on a potential link between malonate esters and reduced damage from heart failure.

Research carried out in mice relating to this topic has recently been published in the journal Nature. The research was conducted by researchers in Cambridge, London, New York and Glasgow and funded by the British Heart Foundation, the Medical Research Council, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and the Gates Cambridge Trust. The researchers intend to develop this research further.

The Department’s National Institute for Health Research is investing £674 million over five years (2012-17) in 11 biomedical research centres that conduct translational research to transform scientific breakthroughs into benefits for patients, including potential interventions to improve outcomes for patients experiencing heart failure. These centres are formed through partnerships between England’s leading national health service organisations and universities, including partnerships in Cambridge and London.