To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to improve access to Pancreatic Enzyme Replacement Therapy in Shropshire.
Answered on
27 February 2025
The Department monitors and manages medicine supply at a national level so that stocks remain available to meet regional and local demand. Information on stock levels within local areas is not held centrally.
The Department is continuing to engage with all suppliers of pancreatic enzyme replacement therapy (PERT) to boost production and mitigate the supply issue. Suppliers have managed to secure additional pharmaceutical ingredients resulting in expected increased volumes of PERT for 2025. The Department has also reached out to specialist importers who have sourced unlicensed stock to assist in covering the gap in the market. In December 2024, the Department issued further management advice to healthcare professionals. This directs clinicians to prescribe unlicensed imports when licensed stock is unavailable, and includes actions for integrated care boards to ensure that local mitigation plans are put in place and implemented. The Department, in collaboration with NHS England, has created a webpage to include the latest updates on PERT availability and easily accessible advice on the prescribing and ordering of alternative PERT products.