Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of increasing funding for research into treatments for Huntington’s disease in Surrey Heath constituency.

The Department of Health and Social Care delivers research via the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR).

In January 2024, the NIHR invested £6 million over three years into two Dementia and Neurodegeneration Policy Research Units to conduct research that informs policymaking in the Department and its health system partners. The units’ work programmes span multiple neurodegenerative diseases, including Huntington’s disease.

As well as funding research itself, the NIHR invests significantly in research expertise and capacity, specialist facilities, support services and collaborations to support and deliver research in England, collectively forming the NIHR infrastructure.

For example, research supported by the NIHR’s UCLH Biomedical Research Centre and Research Delivery Network has shown that AMT-130 gene therapy led to a 75% slowing in disease progression after 36 months in people with Huntington’s disease who also demonstrated slower motor and cognitive function degeneration, offering long-awaited hope to individuals and families impacted by the disease..

The NIHR continues to welcome high-quality funding applications for research into any aspect of human health and care, including Huntington’s disease. These applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards being made on the basis of the importance of the topic to patients and health and care services, value for money and scientific quality.