Asked by: Carla Lockhart (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans his Department has to encourage collaboration between NHS Trusts and pharmaceutical companies to enhance cancer clinical trials.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department is committed to ensuring that all patients, including those with cancer, have access to cutting-edge clinical trials and innovative, lifesaving treatments.
We are incentivising clinical trials and strengthening collaboration between pharmaceutical companies and National Health Service trusts by streamlining processes and cutting set‑up times to 150 days by March 2026, ensuring the United Kingdom offers a faster, more competitive environment for delivering high‑quality research.
The Department funded National Institute of Health and Care Research (NIHR) funds research and research infrastructure which supports patients and the public to participate in high-quality research. This includes Experimental Cancer Medicine Centres, co-funded by NIHR, Cancer Research UK, and the Little Princess Trust, which form a UK-wide network that brings together world leading laboratory and clinical researchers to deliver pioneering early phase cancer trials for adults and children. Additionally, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency will introduce a 14-day assessment route for phase 1 trials, adopting an innovative stepwise approach, restoring a rapid pathway for the earliest testing of new medicines in people, a key draw for global pharmaceutical companies deciding where to base their research.
NHS England is delivering specific collaborative initiatives with industry such as the Cancer Vaccine Launch Pad (CVLP). The NHS CVLP is a platform that is speeding up access to clinical trials for cancer vaccines and immunotherapies for patients who have been diagnosed with cancer. The CVLP platform is designed to be company and clinical trial agnostic. Different companies have been involved in the CVLP and trials in the CVLP portfolio have included cancers such as head and neck cancer melanoma and colorectal cancer.
35 Commercial Research Delivery Centres (CRDCs), including primary care been established largely within NHS trusts. CRDCs will expand capacity, streamline set-up, and give patients faster access to innovative treatments and clinical trials, including those concerning cancer.
Asked by: Rachel Gilmour (Liberal Democrat - Tiverton and Minehead)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent progress his Department has made on implementing the Dame Barbara Windsor Dementia Goals programme.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Dame Barbara Windsor Dementia Goals programme, with up to £150 million expected to be allocated to, or aligned with it, aims to speed up the development of new treatments for dementia and neurodegenerative conditions by accelerating innovations in biomarkers, clinical trials, and implementation. This is co-chaired by Hilary Evans-Newton CBE and Professor Nadeem Sarwar.
So far, the programme has invested approximately £100 million into biomarker innovation projects, experimental medicine studies, and clinical trial infrastructure. This covers a broad range of biomarker technologies and studies to help researchers, patients, and industry partners work together to better understand how dementia begins and progresses. This amount also supports the Medical Research Council’s Dementia Trials Accelerator which aims to embed more innovation in how clinical trials are designed and delivered in order to increase the speed and quality, while driving down the cost of large-scale trials, as well as the National Institute for Health and Care Research’s UK Dementia Trials Network which seeks to speed up early-stage clinical trials.
The programme is now setting up the Neurodegeneration Initiative, which will be a globally unique, not-for-profit, industry led, public-private partnership with charitable status, that will work together across the Government, industry, academia, the National Health Service, and third sector, and will deliver the programme’s remaining objectives.
Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether research is being conducted into the potential association between Gabapentin use and the development of attentional amnestic disorders or other cognitive impairments.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Gabapentin is authorised to treat epilepsy and peripheral neuropathic pain, or nerve pain. The known side effects of gabapentin are outlined in the product information, the Summary of Product Characteristics (SPC) for healthcare professionals, and the Patient Information Leaflet which is provided in each pack of the medicine.
The SPC states that in the treatment of peripheral neuropathic pain, such as painful diabetic neuropathy and post-herpetic neuralgia, efficacy and safety have not been examined in clinical studies for treatment periods longer than five months. If a patient requires the medication for longer than five months to treat peripheral neuropathic pain, the treating physician should assess the patient's clinical status and determine the need for additional therapy. Epilepsy normally requires long-term treatment and the SPC states that the dosage for gabapentin should be determined by the treating physician according to the clinical response and side effects experienced by the individual patient.
The product information for gabapentin lists amnesia as a common side effect and mental impairment as an uncommon side effect. Dementia is not a known side effect of gabapentin.
Gabapentin can cause drug dependence, and the product information includes warnings that patients treated with gabapentin should be monitored for symptoms of misuse, abuse, or dependence. After discontinuation of short- and long-term treatment with gabapentin, withdrawal symptoms have been observed, and gabapentin should be discontinued gradually over a minimum of one week.
As with all medicines, the safety of gabapentin is kept under continual review by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency using a number of data sources including reports of suspected side effects through the Yellow Card Scheme, data from marketing authorisation holders, and research published in the scientific literature.
Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment has been made of the potential impact of prolonged use of Gabapentin on long-term neurological risks, including dementia and brain damage.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Gabapentin is authorised to treat epilepsy and peripheral neuropathic pain, or nerve pain. The known side effects of gabapentin are outlined in the product information, the Summary of Product Characteristics (SPC) for healthcare professionals, and the Patient Information Leaflet which is provided in each pack of the medicine.
The SPC states that in the treatment of peripheral neuropathic pain, such as painful diabetic neuropathy and post-herpetic neuralgia, efficacy and safety have not been examined in clinical studies for treatment periods longer than five months. If a patient requires the medication for longer than five months to treat peripheral neuropathic pain, the treating physician should assess the patient's clinical status and determine the need for additional therapy. Epilepsy normally requires long-term treatment and the SPC states that the dosage for gabapentin should be determined by the treating physician according to the clinical response and side effects experienced by the individual patient.
The product information for gabapentin lists amnesia as a common side effect and mental impairment as an uncommon side effect. Dementia is not a known side effect of gabapentin.
Gabapentin can cause drug dependence, and the product information includes warnings that patients treated with gabapentin should be monitored for symptoms of misuse, abuse, or dependence. After discontinuation of short- and long-term treatment with gabapentin, withdrawal symptoms have been observed, and gabapentin should be discontinued gradually over a minimum of one week.
As with all medicines, the safety of gabapentin is kept under continual review by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency using a number of data sources including reports of suspected side effects through the Yellow Card Scheme, data from marketing authorisation holders, and research published in the scientific literature.
Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps are being taken to inform patients and healthcare professionals about the potential long-term risks of Gabapentin use.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Gabapentin is authorised to treat epilepsy and peripheral neuropathic pain, or nerve pain. The known side effects of gabapentin are outlined in the product information, the Summary of Product Characteristics (SPC) for healthcare professionals, and the Patient Information Leaflet which is provided in each pack of the medicine.
The SPC states that in the treatment of peripheral neuropathic pain, such as painful diabetic neuropathy and post-herpetic neuralgia, efficacy and safety have not been examined in clinical studies for treatment periods longer than five months. If a patient requires the medication for longer than five months to treat peripheral neuropathic pain, the treating physician should assess the patient's clinical status and determine the need for additional therapy. Epilepsy normally requires long-term treatment and the SPC states that the dosage for gabapentin should be determined by the treating physician according to the clinical response and side effects experienced by the individual patient.
The product information for gabapentin lists amnesia as a common side effect and mental impairment as an uncommon side effect. Dementia is not a known side effect of gabapentin.
Gabapentin can cause drug dependence, and the product information includes warnings that patients treated with gabapentin should be monitored for symptoms of misuse, abuse, or dependence. After discontinuation of short- and long-term treatment with gabapentin, withdrawal symptoms have been observed, and gabapentin should be discontinued gradually over a minimum of one week.
As with all medicines, the safety of gabapentin is kept under continual review by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency using a number of data sources including reports of suspected side effects through the Yellow Card Scheme, data from marketing authorisation holders, and research published in the scientific literature.
Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what measures are in place to monitor patients on Gabapentin for signs of neurological or cognitive decline during treatment.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Gabapentin is authorised to treat epilepsy and peripheral neuropathic pain, or nerve pain. The known side effects of gabapentin are outlined in the product information, the Summary of Product Characteristics (SPC) for healthcare professionals, and the Patient Information Leaflet which is provided in each pack of the medicine.
The SPC states that in the treatment of peripheral neuropathic pain, such as painful diabetic neuropathy and post-herpetic neuralgia, efficacy and safety have not been examined in clinical studies for treatment periods longer than five months. If a patient requires the medication for longer than five months to treat peripheral neuropathic pain, the treating physician should assess the patient's clinical status and determine the need for additional therapy. Epilepsy normally requires long-term treatment and the SPC states that the dosage for gabapentin should be determined by the treating physician according to the clinical response and side effects experienced by the individual patient.
The product information for gabapentin lists amnesia as a common side effect and mental impairment as an uncommon side effect. Dementia is not a known side effect of gabapentin.
Gabapentin can cause drug dependence, and the product information includes warnings that patients treated with gabapentin should be monitored for symptoms of misuse, abuse, or dependence. After discontinuation of short- and long-term treatment with gabapentin, withdrawal symptoms have been observed, and gabapentin should be discontinued gradually over a minimum of one week.
As with all medicines, the safety of gabapentin is kept under continual review by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency using a number of data sources including reports of suspected side effects through the Yellow Card Scheme, data from marketing authorisation holders, and research published in the scientific literature.
Asked by: Lord Ravensdale (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to produce a strategy or consultation on the potential of creating a sovereign supply of medical isotopes to ensure cancer patients receive the treatment they require.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Medical radioisotopes can be produced in different ways, and the United Kingdom has a comprehensive network of cyclotrons used for radioisotope manufacture. These tend to be placed close to the point of use due to the short half-life of these products. The radioisotopes manufactured in these cyclotrons are not suitable for all uses, and so hospitals and trusts in England use a significant number of isotopes manufactured in research reactors. There are currently no reactors in the UK that manufacture medical isotopes, all of these are therefore imported.
The Government does not have any current plans to produce a strategy or to consult on the potential for further domestic medical radioisotope manufacture. However, the Government prioritises the reliable supply of medicines, including the supply of medical radioisotopes for critical services. The Government therefore offers support for private investors and developers to increase manufacture capacity.
The Government has made up to £520 million available through the Life Sciences Innovative Manufacturing Fund to support UK manufacture of medicine and medical technology products. Applications looking to establish, expand, or improve the UK-based manufacture of medical radioisotopes for diagnostic or therapeutic applications can apply to this fund.
The Government also recently announced a £54 million funding package for eight innovative research and development projects, including £9.9 million earmarked for Project Alpha 10.6 to explore how to make medical treatments from legacy nuclear material, something that could unlock the UK’s potential to develop promising new cancer therapies.
Asked by: Lord Ravensdale (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the potential of developing a medical isotope production capability to ensure a sovereign domestic supply of medical isotopes.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Medical radioisotopes can be produced in different ways, and the United Kingdom has a comprehensive network of cyclotrons used for radioisotope manufacture. These tend to be placed close to the point of use due to the short half-life of these products. The radioisotopes manufactured in these cyclotrons are not suitable for all uses, and so hospitals and trusts in England use a significant number of isotopes manufactured in research reactors. There are currently no reactors in the UK that manufacture medical isotopes, all of these are therefore imported.
The Government does not have any current plans to produce a strategy or to consult on the potential for further domestic medical radioisotope manufacture. However, the Government prioritises the reliable supply of medicines, including the supply of medical radioisotopes for critical services. The Government therefore offers support for private investors and developers to increase manufacture capacity.
The Government has made up to £520 million available through the Life Sciences Innovative Manufacturing Fund to support UK manufacture of medicine and medical technology products. Applications looking to establish, expand, or improve the UK-based manufacture of medical radioisotopes for diagnostic or therapeutic applications can apply to this fund.
The Government also recently announced a £54 million funding package for eight innovative research and development projects, including £9.9 million earmarked for Project Alpha 10.6 to explore how to make medical treatments from legacy nuclear material, something that could unlock the UK’s potential to develop promising new cancer therapies.
Asked by: Alison Hume (Labour - Scarborough and Whitby)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what plans her Department has to support the use of combinatorial genomic analysis techniques, such as those used by Precision Life to identify novel ME genetic associations, within government-funded research programmes.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Medical Research Council (MRC), which is part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), funds a broad portfolio of health research, including researcher led proposals using combinatorial genomic analysis. MRC has prioritised research into Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) for many years, investing over £4.65 million since 2020, and continues to welcome high quality applications in this area.
UKRI supports collaboration between Government funded bodies and private sector researchers across its councils and Innovate UK. This includes funding the LOCOME study led by Precision Life, through Innovate UK’s Advancing Precision Medicine programme, which supports the development of digital and data tools to improve diagnosis and treatment. MRC also enables academic-industry partnerships through its Industry Collaboration Framework.
UKRI does not typically maintain disease‑specific research strategies, instead providing open funding routes for the most impactful research across disciplines. Targeted work can be supported where needed. For example, in 2020, the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHCR), the Scottish Government and MRC funded the James Lind Alliance Priority Setting Partnership to identify ME/CFS research priorities.
Asked by: Alison Hume (Labour - Scarborough and Whitby)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what plans her Department has to develop a long-term research strategy into under-researched health conditions that reflects the scale of emerging genetic evidence identified by private-sector research organisations, including Precision Life’s LOCOME study.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Medical Research Council (MRC), which is part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), funds a broad portfolio of health research, including researcher led proposals using combinatorial genomic analysis. MRC has prioritised research into Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) for many years, investing over £4.65 million since 2020, and continues to welcome high quality applications in this area.
UKRI supports collaboration between Government funded bodies and private sector researchers across its councils and Innovate UK. This includes funding the LOCOME study led by Precision Life, through Innovate UK’s Advancing Precision Medicine programme, which supports the development of digital and data tools to improve diagnosis and treatment. MRC also enables academic-industry partnerships through its Industry Collaboration Framework.
UKRI does not typically maintain disease‑specific research strategies, instead providing open funding routes for the most impactful research across disciplines. Targeted work can be supported where needed. For example, in 2020, the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHCR), the Scottish Government and MRC funded the James Lind Alliance Priority Setting Partnership to identify ME/CFS research priorities.