§ Mr. BellinghamTo ask the Secretary of State for Health whether Bavarian Nordic were approached directly and invited to bid during the negotiations to award the smallpox vaccine contract. [67549]
§ Mr. HuttonYes, Bavarian Nordic were approached directly regarding the supply of smallpox vaccine, but made it clear that Powderject were their nominated supplier for smallpox vaccine in the UK.
§ Mr. BellinghamTo ask the Secretary of State for Health whether other bidders for the smallpox vaccine awarded to Powderject committed themselves to supply a vaccine that was free of BSE agents. [67543]
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§ Mr. HuttonYes, other bidders for the smallpox vaccine awarded to Powderject committed themselves to supply a vaccine that was free of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) agents. European legislation demands that an application for marketing authorisation of a medicinal product in the European Union must include satisfactory demonstration of compliance with the European note for guidance on minimising the risk of transmitting animal spongiform encephalopathy agents via human and veterinary medicinal products.
If a manufacturer wishes to produce smallpox vaccine using virus culture in bovine cells, the appropriate regulatory guidance on cell characterisation and storage would have to be followed.
§ Mr. BellinghamTo ask the Secretary of State for Health whether IDT were approached directly during the negotiations to award the smallpox vaccine contract and invited to make a bid. (67540]
§ Mr. HuttonImpfstoffwerke Dessau Tornav Gmbh (IDT) were not approached during the negotiations to award the smallpox vaccine contract and were not invited to make a bid. It was known from the outset that IDT were a sub-contracting partner of Bavarian Nordic, with whom Powderject had an exclusive agreement to act as their suppliers. An official from the Department accompanied officials from the Ministry of Defence on a visit to Bavarian Nordic and IDT at the end of January (31) on a fact-finding visit to discuss vaccine developments and manufacturing techniques and capacity for both types of smallpox vaccine being made by the company.
§ Mr. BellinghamTo ask the Secretary of State for Health whether the relevance of the nationality of the supplier to national security was considered during the tendering process for the smallpox vaccine contract. [67545]
§ Mr. HuttonThe key selection criteria upon which the contract for the supply of smallpox vaccine was awarded were the company's ability to provide vaccine of the chosen strain and its ability to complete supply within the preferred timescale. The security of supply in the event of an emergency was a factor that was considered, but not the nationality of the supplier.