Today, Health Minister David Mowat announced that around 100 million prescription items for medicines used in England come from companies based in Israel.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Community Health and Care said that without these supplies from Israel, there would likely be “significant shortages of some medicines important for patient health”, which would cause a “significant impact on competition and in all likelihood increase prices paid by the NHS”.
The Minister’s comments came in response to a written question asked by CFI Parliamentary Chairman Sir Eric Pickles MP: “To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will assess the additional costs to the NHS if Israeli-owned or Israeli-based companies were banned from supplying generic medicines to the NHS”.
David Mowat, MP for Warrington South, replied: “We do not routinely collect information on where pharmaceutical manufacturers are based, or whether they have connections with particular countries. Any company with the necessary regulatory authorisations can supply medicines to the National Health Service. However, some 100 million prescription items for medicines used in the community in England are estimated to come from companies based in Israel. This includes some medicines where one of these companies will be the main supplier”.
The Minister underlined: “Banning these supplies would most likely cause significant shortages of some medicines important for patient health and have a significant impact on competition and in all likelihood increase prices paid by the NHS”.
