§ Tim LoughtonTo ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how many people in the UK use(a) animal insulin and (b) GM insulin for treatment of diabetes; [134781]
(2) what the cost to the NHS of prescribing (a) animal insulin and (b) GM insulin for treatment of diabetes was in the last 12 months. [134783]
599W
§ Ms Rosie WintertonData on the number of people using these insulins is not collected, However, the table shows the number of prescription items that were dispensed in the community in England, and their cost, in the twelve months ended June 2003.
Number of prescription items and net ingredient cost of Insulins that were dispensed in the community in England for the twelve months ending June 2003 Number of prescription items (Thousands) Net ingredient cost (£000s) Highly purified animal insulin 128.1 4,217.2 Human sequence (GM Insulin) 3,522.0 150,528.8 All Insulins 3,650.0 154,746.0 Notes:
The data is from the Prescription Cost Anallysis (PCA) system which covers all prescription items that are dispensed in the community in England. This does not include drugs dispensed in hospitals or private prescriptions.
Insulins are those defined in the British National Formulary BNF) paragraph 6.1.1, "Insulins". Insulin drugs have been grouped into highly purified animal and human sequence (GM) insulin in line with the British National Formulary (BNF)
Doctors write prescriptions on a prescription form. Each single item written on the form is counted as a prescription item. The net ingredient cost refers to the cost (which the dispenser is reimbursed) of the drug before discounts arid does not include any dispensing costs or fees.
§ Tim LoughtonTo ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how many people in the UK are known to be unable to use GM insulin for the treatment of diabetes; [134782]
(2) how many users of GM insulins for treatment of Type 1 diabetes have been found dead attributable to dead in bed syndrome in each of the last 10 years; [134785]
(3) what research he has (a) commissioned and (b) assessed regarding the (i) efficacy and (ii) side-effects of GM insulin against animal insulin on diabetes patients; [134788]
(4) what assessment he has made of the side-effects of GM insulin on certain diabetes sufferers. [134802]
§ Ms Rosie WintertonWe have no estimate of the numbers of people with diabetes who are known to be unable to use genetically modified (human) insulin. Decisions on the most suitable type of insulin should be made by people with diabetes in consultation with their healthcare providers. The Committee on Safety of Medicines (CSM) and the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency has kept the safety of human insulins under close review. The CSM concluded that, although some patients have experienced problems on transferring to human insulin and are better suited to animal derived insulins, there is no evidence of a safety concern specific to human insulin. The CSM Sub-Committee on Pharmacovigilance reviewed the issue again in September 2000, following the publication of a systematic review of the literature. 52 randomised controlled trials were identified, in addition to 56 studies of other designs and case reports. The Sub-Committee considered the paper and agreed with the conclusions of the authors that there is no evidence of a safety problem specific to human insulin. In 2002, the Cochrane Library published a review of human insulin versus animal insulin in people with diabetes mellitus. This review included randomised controlled trials of at least one600W month in duration. No significant differences in metabolic control or hypoglycaemic episodes between various insulin species could be found. Data on the rare occurrence of dead in bed syndrome is not collected.
§ Tim LoughtonTo ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what measures the Government are taking to secure the continued availability of animal insulin to people who have shown a resistance to GM insulin for the treatment of diabetes; [134784]
(2) what discussions he has had with his Danish counterparts about the continued supply of animal insulin; [134786]
(3) from where the NHS sources (a) animal insulin and (b) GM insulin; [134787]
(4) what discussions he has had with the Insulin Dependent Diabetes Trust about the continued supply of animal insulin to diabetes patients in the UK. [134801]
§ Ms Rosie WintertonThere are two companies supplying animal insulin in the United Kingdom; CP Pharmaceuticals and Novo Nordisk. Both companies have confirmed that they will continue to supply animal insulin for the foreseeable future. Officials are in regular contact with these companies. I have had no discussions with either the Insulin Dependent Diabetes Trust or my Danish counterparts on this subject.