§ Sir Michael McNair-WilsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what consideration his Department has given to the question of against whom liability for use of the drug FK 506 will rest;
(2) what discussions have taken place with the Japanese Government about allowing a supply of the anti-rejection drug FK 506 to be used in the United Kingdom.
§ Mrs. Virginia BottomleyOfficials asked the Japanese Ministry of Health and Welfare to facilitate transmission of FK 506 by Fujisawa Pharmaceuticals from Japan for Dr. Roger Williams of Kings College hospital, London to use in treating his patient Mrs. Aisling Barnett following a liver transplant. I am glad to have this opportunity to express my gratitude to the Japanese Ministry for their prompt and effective response, and to all the others concerned, notably the British Embassy in Tokyo, British Airways, and the Metropolitan police.
Responsibility for choice of medicinal product in patient care lies with the practitioner concerned. Where, as in this case, a product has not been granted a product licence under provisions of the Medicines Act 1968, the practitioner concerned may nevertheless choose to use the product for a particular named patient under the licensing exemptions provided in section 9 of the Act. Questions of 575W liability arising from that choice are a matter for the practitioner subject to relevant legal provisions in respect of product liability etc.