Medical Innovation Bill: Joint briefing published

The Academy of Medical Sciences has signed a joint briefing encouraging MPs to give careful consideration to the issues raised by the Medical Innovation Bill ahead of its second reading in the House of Commons tomorrow.

Other signatories include the Wellcome Trust, the Medical Research Council, the Association of Medical Research Charities and the British Heart Foundation.

The Medical Innovation Bill is a Private Members Bill introduced to the House of Lords by Lord Saatchi in June 2014. Its stated aim is to encourage medical innovation by making it easier for doctors to pursue innovative treatments without fear of litigation. However, signatories to the briefing believe that the Bill will not achieve this aim and could potentially lead to harmful unintended consequences.

The briefing highlights that although the Bill aims to reduce doctors’ fears of litigation, there does not appear to be significant evidence to suggest that this is currently deterring them from adopting innovative treatments. As such, signatories believe that this legislation is unnecessary. In addition, the briefing states that:

• The Bill risks subverting the frameworks currently in place to preserve patient safety. There may be unintended consequences for patients who could be at risk when receiving treatments for which the evidence base is not fully established, including treatments which could prove ineffective or harmful.
• The Bill may discourage patients and their clinicians from participating in clinical trials by encouraging the provision of novel treatments on an ad hoc basis. Without properly controlled studies, it is not possible to develop the evidence of efficacy necessary to support wider adoption of new treatments in the NHS. The Bill also does not make adequate provisions for follow-up or data collection.
• The Bill could introduce a degree of ambiguity to the law governing clinical negligence, potentially placing doctors at risk of further litigation.

The briefing states that the Bill also fails to address other highly significant barriers to medical innovation, such as funding, regulatory complexity and clinical training and development. It argues that legislation may not be the best way to encourage innovation and that efforts are better directed through existing mechanisms to increase access to innovative treatments.

The Bill has progressed through the House of Lords and, if there are no objections at its second reading on Friday, it will progress to committee stage in the Commons, where it can be debated in more detail ahead of its third and final reading.