Vote 5. National Health Service, England and Wales

Part of Orders of the Day — Supply – in the House of Commons at 12:00 am on 12 March 1959.

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Photo of Mr Julian Snow Mr Julian Snow , Lichfield and Tamworth 12:00, 12 March 1959

My hon. Friend has mentioned the new penicillins, and the significance of these is quite extraordinary, as the Minister will know, in the sense that, theoretically, it should now be possible to develop penicillins which will attack specific bacteria which up to now has been resistant. There is also the drug meprobamate. In both cases, the basic research was done in this country, but it appears that we shall lose the development work, as well as the marketing and patent rights in the United States.

What is the reason for this? On an examination of the history of pure research in the United Kingdom, it looks as though it is because companies in this country do not, in the main, appreciate the possibilities. In the case of meprobamate the work was done by a very great English drug house. The man who did the work went to America and before we knew where we were the drug was patented in the United States and throughout the world by American interests.

It is difficult to discover why the great English drug house of Beecham, having carried out the basic research work on penicillin this new discovery, has allowed the development of it to go to the United States. As far as one can gather, it is because there is spare fermentation capacity in the United States, coupled with the fact that there is a ready-made team of technicians available to American companies. It looks as though the original sorry history of Fleming's great discovery will be repeated and that we shall lose our control of these new penicillin discoveries to the United States. The Minister should consider how his Department can stimulate research so that in the long run, as the pattern of drug invention changes, we do not have to pay vast bills to overseas companies.

The other point to which I want to draw the Minister's attention is this Under Sections 335 to 340 of the Income Tax Act, 1952, an allowance was granted for research purposes. He ought to find out what advantage has been taken of that allowance in respect of pharmaceuticals. I think that he would find that it was surprisingly small. If it is a fact that the National Research Development Council initiates pure research, and has on its staff people who are ex-employees of certain big drug houses, the Minister should be very careful and use his influence, as Minister, to ensure that the possibilities of development are farmed out fairly and not concentrated in the hands of one or two big companies.

I refer to Hecogenin. It is claimed as the invention of a big English drug house, but it is nothing of the sort. The drug house did the development, but the invention was on the initiative of the National Research Development Council. If the Council continues its present policy, the Minister will continue to concentrate in the hands of one or two big companies the power of development which, if it was more widespread, could result in the long run in very great economies to the National Health Service.

I have, possibly, made the Minister a little impatient. I am sorry if I have. I merely ask him to see whether his own Department is capable of looking into basic cost and ensuring that research is stimulated sufficiently to secure economies for his Department and to treat carefully the claims of certain foreign companies that they are the only producers of pure drugs.