§ 1. Sir David MadelTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what further research her Department will be conducting in 1995 into the possible causes of multiple sclerosis; and if she will make a statement.
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health (Mr. John Bowis)My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has written to you, Madam Speaker, and to the right hon. Member for Derby, South (Mrs. Beckett), to explain that today she is leading a trade mission to Japan and Korea to boost British medical exports and to bring inward investment and jobs to Britain.
To my hon. Friend the Member for Bedfordshire, South-West (Sir D. Madel), I reply that such research is mainly commissioned by the Medical Research Council and is the responsibilty of my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. The Department of Health does, however, have a programme of research which includes work on service delivery for people with multiple sclerosis.
§ Sir David MadelIn view of successful trials in the United States and completion of trials in the United Kingdom, will the drug beta interferon be available for multiple sclerosis sufferers on the national health service in the autumn and will trials on the drug rolipram begin in Britain this year?
§ Mr. BowisAs my hon. Friend knows, the cause of multiple sclerosis is not known, so as yet there is no cure. The research and clinical trials to which he refers have been on drugs to alleviate symptoms of the disease. Beta interferon, as a biotechnology product, now comes under the European Medicines Evaluation Agency and I cannot say whether, when or in what form a licence will be granted by it. The Medicines Control Agency in Britain has not yet approved any clinical trials on rolipram because no such proposals have yet been put to it.