The Medicines and Medical Devices Bill has been introduced today (13 February 2020). It will move responsibility for regulating medicines, medical devices and clinical trials from the European Medicines Agency to the UK’s Medicines and Healthcare Regulatory Authority. The Government hopes the Bill’s proposals will keep the UK at the forefront of the pharmaceutical industry and speed up access to new, pioneering treatments. Kidney Care UK will review the Bill to understand how it may affect people with chronic kidney disease (CKD) and, if necessary, work with MPs to address any potential issues.
- A new regulation system for medical devices. This should increase patient safety as stringent safety checks will need to be carried out, with enforcement action if any problems arise.
- Removing bureaucracy for low risk clinical trials, thus improving the efficiency of medical research.
- New powers for hospitals to use patient tissue and DNA samples to tailor treatments for individual treatments where other drugs have failed.
- Increase range of professionals who can prescribe medicines in low-risk situations. This hopes to reduce unnecessary GP appointments and save patients time. Kidney patients have to be particularly careful with medications and their effect on the kidneys, so we will carefully assess whether the bill provides adequate safeguards here.
The Bill will now begin its passage through Parliament. We will monitor and respond where necessary to try to make sure the bill supports access to innovative and safe treatments for people with chronic kidney disease.
