Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to increase domestic production of quetiapine.

The Department is aware of ongoing intermittent supply issues with several brands of quetiapine modified-release tablets. The disruption has been caused by manufacturing capacity constraints limiting the volumes needed to meet United Kingdom demand. We continue to work with the affected manufacturers to increase supply to the UK and several suppliers have now completed deliveries. Working with National Health Service specialists we have provided management advice for these supply issues, advising healthcare professionals on how to manage patients during this time.

The resilience of UK supply chains is a key priority, and the Department and NHS England are committed to helping to build long term supply chain resilience for medicines. We are continually learning and seeking to further improve the way we work to both manage and help prevent supply issues and avoid shortages. The Department, working closely with NHS England, is taking forward a range of actions to improve our ability to mitigate and manage shortages and strengthen our resilience. As part of that work, we continue to engage with industry, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, and other colleagues across the supply chain as we progress work to co-design and deliver solutions. However, medicine shortages are a complex and global issue and everyone in the supply chain has a role to play in addressing them, and any action will require a collaborative approach.

The Government is enhancing domestic manufacturing capability alongside strengthening international partnerships to build long-term supply resilience and help ensure patients can access the medical products they need.