RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT AND NEW MEDICINES

Early day motion 867, tabled 14 December 2015 by Alan Meale (Labour). Signed by 25 members.

That this House is aware that the World Health Organisation (WHO) is shortly to discuss reforms of the research and development of medicines worldwide; notes that examples of failures in medicine include lack of new treatments for conditions such as tuberculosis and other so-called diseases of poverty, and that those suffering life threatening conditions like cancer being unable to afford the treatments needed to survive; and further notes the WHO has created a consultative export group (CEG) whose remit is to prepare a new international agreement which will create alternatives to market-only based incentives for pharmaceutical companies to produce new medicines, prioritise health research according to need rather than profit and establish a pooled fund for research and development to be financed by a levy of 0.01 per cent of gross domestic product to develop new treatments.

Signatures by party: Labour 14, Scottish National Party 6, Social Democratic and Labour Party 2, DUP 1, Green 1, Labour/Co-operative 1.