Health minister blocks cheap drugs bill

From the Independent:

"A Conservative health minister has deliberately blocked a new law to provide cheap and effective
drugs for the NHS by championing medicines whose patents have expired.  Mr Burt deliberately used up the bill’s time by speaking at length for 27 minutes [out of the allotted 30 minutes], despite heckles and jeering from Labour, SNP, and Conservative benches. Because the proposed law is not supported by the Government it only has a limited amount of time to be debated in Parliament, or has to be shelved.

Picture courtesy of Erich Ferdinand

The proposed law would have compelled the Government to seek new licences for medicines that were not covered by patents but which could benefit patients.  Currently, such medicines tend to go un-licensed because there is no profit incentive for pharmaceutical companies to bring forward an application for a license.  Proponents, including charities, say the bill would open up a range of treatments for diseases such as breast cancer, multiple sclerosis and Parkinson’s – and save the NHS millions of pounds."