Question reference: S6W-03516
- Date lodged: 6 October 2021 Registered interest
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Current status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 27 October 2021
Question
To ask the Scottish Government which genomic tests that identify companion biomarkers for access to medicines accepted by the Scottish Medicines Consortium are not currently available in NHS Scotland, and what the timeline is for these tests to be available to NHS Scotland patients.
Answer
The National Services Division (NSD) in NHS National Services Scotland (NSS) have commissioning responsibility for the Scottish Genetic Laboratories. NSD are currently conducting a review of NHS Scotland’s genomic services which includes a review of the Scottish genomic test directory and genomics infrastructure. The review is expected to be completed by the end of the 2021-2022 financial year.
The outcomes from the review will be considered by the Scottish Genomics Leadership Group (SGLG), chaired jointly by Professor David Crossman, Chief Scientist for Health for the Scottish Government, and Susan Buchanan, NSD Director, who are supporting the Scottish Government in ensuring appropriate planning and robust decision-making processes are in place for genetic testing availability in Scotland.
In addition, the SGLG and NSD are working closely with the Scottish Genetics Laboratory Consortium and the Scottish Medicines Consortium to understand the laboratory capacity requirements for current and future medicines requiring a companion diagnostic test.