§ Mr. BakerTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how many applications for xenotransplantation clinical trials have been received and from which companies; how many involve(a) transgenic tissue and (b) transgenic organs; from which animals these materials come; and for each category how many permissions have been granted. [100704]
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§ Mr. DenhamTo date, the United Kingdom Xenotransplantation Interim Regulatory Authority (UKXIRA) has received one application which complies with the requirements set out in "Guidance on making proposals to conduct xenotransplantation on human subjects". Following initial consideration by the UKXIRA, the applicant subsequently advised the authority of their intention not to pursue the application. Two other applicants have been advised to re-submit their applications in accordance with the requirements described in the guidance.
Details of applications submitted to the UKXIRA are supplied in confidence. An announcement will be made if an application is approved.
§ Mr. BakerTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what funds have been committed to research and development of the use of organs from GM pigs. [100706]
§ Mr. DenhamThe Medical Research Council (MRC), which receives its grant in aid from my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, has funded two projects related to xenotransplantation:
Between 1993 and 1998, £500,000 was allocated to: "Germ Line modification of pig organs for human transplantation" conducted by the BBSRC Babraham Institute.
In 1998–99, £50,000 was allocated to: "Endogenous retroviruses of pigs and xenotransplantation" conducted by the Institute of Cancer Research and the MRC National Institute for Medical Research.
The Department is directly funding a further project. In 1999–2000, £149,000 was allocated to: "An investigation into the ability of porcine endogenous retroviruses to infect animals other than pigs" being conducted by the Centre for Applied Microbiology and Research.