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Tuesday, April 5 2005
The Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry said today
that the Health Select Committee's report rightly acknowledges the
importance of the UK pharmaceutical industry in the development
of new medicines and the fact that its discoveries "have improved
many people's quality of life, reduced the need for surgical intervention
and the length of time spent in hospital and saved many lives".
Dr Richard Barker, Director General of the ABPI said: "It
is critically important to patients, the NHS and the pharmaceutical
industry that the public have trust in and benefit from advances
in medicines. To this end the committee's report puts forward a
number of constructive proposals to increase public accountability
and transparency among all those involved in decisions about health
care".
The industry wholeheartedly supports proposals for improved patient
information about medicines and better reporting of side effects
by both patients and doctors. The ABPI agrees with moves towards
public registers of funding of patient groups and of financial benefits
received by doctors.
It warmly welcomes the committee's proposals for mandatory post-graduate
training for all prescribers about medicines and how they can best
be used.
But there were a number of fundamental misconceptions within the
Committee's report that called into question other recommendations
that were intended to restrict doctors' freedom to prescribe and
companies' ability to provide information to the medical profession.
In particular, the report claims that:
- "Our consumption of drugs is vast and increasing".
In fact, the UK remains bottom of the European league in spending
per head on medicines and this remains steady at 12 per cent of
the total NHS bill.
- "…prescribing explosion often seen in the months following
a product launch". In fact, the UK has among the lowest usage
of new medicines across Europe during their first five years on
the market
- "Intensive marketing…encourages inappropriate prescribing".
In fact, most doctors receive only a handful of representative
visits in a month. The majority say they value the clinical and
product information provided.
Hence, artificially limiting the ability of doctors to receive
information about medicines and restricting further their ability
to prescribe medicines already licensed for use - as proposed in
the report - would be a step backwards in the National Health Service's
bid to prevent disease and raise access to best quality treatment.
The industry's own Code of Practice covering the promotion of medicines
to health professionals is also currently under review and will
take into account the conclusions of the Select Committee.
On research priorities, the industry is keen to work with Government
to ensure the medicines it develops reflect the needs of the NHS
and patients. Nearly half of all medicines developed in the past
ten years match the NHS priorities of cancer, heart disease, mental
health and the needs of the elderly.
All medicines carry both a potential benefit and risk and it is
the role of regulatory authorities to ensure a proper balance. The
Committee's proposals regarding reform of the MHRA need to take
account of the fact that such licensing and safety systems operate
on an international basis and any changes would have to be consistent
with those around the globe. Such systems are currently being re-examined
in the light of recent public debate on risk-benefit issues involving
medicines.
"The Committee has rightly recognised the pharmaceutical
industry in the UK as world class. Clearly there is more that can
be done to ensure future success. That can only be achieved by all
those involved in health care sharing knowledge and improving communication
and partnership for the benefit of patients," said Vincent
Lawton, the ABPI's President.
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