HC Deb 07 July 1992 vol 211 c100W
Mr. Hanson

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if she will commission additional research with the Medical Research Council for the development of Interleukin receptor antagonist—IL-Ira—in the treatment of Alzheimer's disease.

Mr. Waldegrave

The Medical Research Council is funded by grant in aid from the science budget, and is an independent body which normally decides its research priorities on its own expert judgment. It is not currently funding research to develop interleukin receptor in the treatment of Alzheimer's disease. However, it is supporting a considerable body of work relevant to the actions of interleukin in immunology, and has recently launched, with the help of additional funding from the science budget, a neuroscience approach to human health to develop further its research in fields such as Alzheimer's disease. The MRC welcomes high-quality research proposals relevant to the disease, and will consider them in competition by the usual peer review mechanisms.