§ 14. Mr. Gwilym Robertsasked the Secretary of State for Prices and Consumer Protection what study he has made of the Price Commission Report on the profit margins of proprietary drug manufacturers; and what additional steps he is taking to limit these profits.
§ Mr. MaclennanConsultations with interested parties about this report are in progress. My right hon. Friend will make a statement when these are concluded.
§ Mr. RobertsDoes not my hon. Friend accept that much of the advertising in this area is quite unnecessary and unacceptable to the public? Does he agree that people generally, when we have this sort of report about prices in the drug industry, would expect many of these prices to come down?
§ Mr. MaclennanI have noted what the Price Commission had to say on this matter, as has my right hon. Friend. We shall bear in mind my hon. Friend's remarks in the consideration that we are now giving to the report.
§ Mr. BuchanDoes not my hon. Friend agree that many of the costs which drug manufacturers adduce in favour of their profits are quite unnecessary and wasteful? Has not the time come to recognise that their main customer is the community and that this industry should be brought into public ownership by the community?
§ Mr. MaclennanI am sure that my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State 644 the for Social Services will note my hon. Friend's suggestion.
§ Mr. FreudWhile the Minister looks into the increasing profits of drug manufacturers, will he also examine the decline in profits of rural chemists, who are closing at a very fast rate, and perhaps do something about that?
§ Mr. MaclennanI am aware of the problem, which, as the hon. Gentleman knows, is due to a number of factors, some of which lie outside my province.
§ Mr. Tim SmithIs it not essential that proprietary drug manufacturers should be allowed to retain sufficient of their profits to be able to carry out future research and development, the cost of which can be very high?
§ Mr. MaclennanI think that the hon. Gentleman will recognise that my answers today have not been very forthcoming on this subject. I am afraid that I cannot be more forthcoming about the report until we have had time to consider it and what all the interested parties who have a right to make representations to us have to say.
§ Mr. Robert HughesWill my hon. Friend consult the Department of Health and Social Security on this question of drug profits, since there have been innumerable examples of drug companies putting medicines on the market which have later proved totally unsafe, showing that they had not done their research? What is the purpose of retaining profits if the sole purpose is simply to get more profits without proper research into safety for the consumer?
§ Mr. MaclennanMy hon. Friend makes a number of strong and forceful points. We have been in discussion already with the Department of Health and Social Security on the question of the profitability of the industry.
§ Mr. AdleyThe hon. Gentleman has just admitted that he has not been very forthcoming. Will he now give an answer to the question put by the hon. Member for Renfrewshire, West (Mr. Buchan) about the proposed nationalisation of the drug companies? Is this Government policy? Will it be the Labour Party's policy at the General Election?
§ Mr. Robert HughesI hope so.
§ Mr. MaclennanI had hoped that the House would recognise that it would not be in the interests of those with whom I am in consultation to have announced substantive responses to the Price Commission's report at this stage. Those responses will be forthcoming, as, no doubt, will be responses to the suggestions which have been made by my hon. Friends, which go somewhat beyond the recommendations of the Price Commission.