Cancer Drug R&D

Oral Answers to Questions – in the Northern Ireland Assembly at 3:15 pm on 16 September 2014.

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Photo of Fearghal McKinney Fearghal McKinney Social Democratic and Labour Party 3:15, 16 September 2014

1. asked the Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment whether, given the potential in numbers and quality, Ministers would care to reflect on the scale of our ambition were we to fully embrace the concept of Northern Ireland as a centre of excellence for cancer drug research and development. (AQT 1451/11-15)

Photo of Simon Hamilton Simon Hamilton DUP

I think that there is an increasing awareness that Northern Ireland has huge potential in commercialising the opportunities flowing from considerable public investment in cancer research down through the years.  As I understand it, there are roughly 130 life science and connected-health companies based in Northern Ireland that employ around 7,500 people and have an annual turnover of over £800 million.  So, whilst we sometimes think of life sciences in the broadest sense as maybe being the area of one or two big-name companies, it is much broader than that and has a wider impact on the local economy than we perhaps think. 

The Member specifically talked about development in respect of cancer, and this Department, along with the Department of Health, has engaged the MATRIX panel to undertake a foresight and strategy review for health and life sciences to determine how best to grow the overall sector.  Cancer will be included in that.  The Member will probably recall better than I will that there was an announcement last year of a £13 million partnership to accelerate cancer-focused drug discovery in Northern Ireland.  That was between Queen's University and Almac, one of our leading life sciences companies, and, as part of that project, up to 60 ovarian cancer patients will be trialled with a new locally developed drug.  So, there is a growing understanding and appreciation that, as awful as cancer is, there are opportunities to tackle it in a global fight and that Northern Ireland can play a role where we punch above our weight.

Photo of Fearghal McKinney Fearghal McKinney Social Democratic and Labour Party

I thank the Minister for his positive approach.  In that context, will he agree that the Health Minister's approach to rejecting 40 cancer drugs that are available in England and not making them available here could undermine that ambition?  In that context, will he consider reflecting to the Executive the possibility of at least further and strengthened cross-departmental work, if not a separate subcommittee of the Executive, to look at this, given the health outcomes and economic outcomes that could flow from such an important decision as making this a centre of excellence for the whole region?

Photo of Simon Hamilton Simon Hamilton DUP

We are at risk of the Finance Minister answering DETI questions but actually answering a question for the Health Department.  We are going on a very circular journey.  On the issue of what the Health Minister has and has not done, I do not think that it is a matter of him rejecting the use of particular drugs.

The Member will be acutely aware of the financial constraints that the Minister finds himself in, the difficulties that we have around meeting the huge demand right across the health service and the pressure that his budget is under — pressures that are not helped by a lack of progress on welfare reform that is denying him and the entire Executive much-needed resources.  I know that the Minister has made clear his desire to get a cancer drugs fund established in Northern Ireland, and I support him in that endeavour. 

I do not think that there is any denial of the ability of Northern Ireland to play a leading role, particularly in cancer research, as we have done already.  We should pay tribute to the likes of Almac and other companies in Northern Ireland for the work that they do in that field.  It is an area where there is huge scope for development, but a lot of work needs to be put in to support the companies that are already doing that work and also, importantly, to connect what we do in the public sector in the NHSSometimes I think that, allied to the type of scare stories that Mr Flanagan came out with about privatising the health service, and no matter what your views are about privatising, there is nothing wrong, in my view, with using the opportunities that are there and that have come from public investment to leverage in commercial opportunities that will create jobs on the one hand and, on the other hand, help to solve big problems around cancer and other serious illnesses.