The UK Health Security Agency is receiving a supply of doses of the antiviral medicine favipiravir from the Government of Japan to support the United Kingdom’s preparedness and response to hantavirus.
Favipiravir is not currently licensed for use in the United Kingdom. In line with standard international practice for the provision of medical countermeasures of this nature, the Government of Japan and the supplier have requested that the United Kingdom provides an indemnity in respect of liabilities that may arise from the use of the product.
This indemnity constitutes a contingent liability. The Government have concluded that it represents an appropriate and proportionate arrangement to secure access to a clinically recommended countermeasure, supporting the Government’s ability to respond to the current outbreak and protect the public’s health.
The liability is unquantifiable at this time and is expected to be called upon only in highly unlikely circumstances.
In the normal course of events, a departmental minute would be laid before Parliament for 14 sitting days prior to the indemnity being entered into, in accordance with “Managing Public Money”. Due to the urgent need to secure supply and support the UK’s response to the current hantavirus outbreak, this has not been possible. The departmental minute has been laid before Parliament today. The Department has written to the Public Accounts Committee and Health and Social Care Select Committee to notify them that Parliament could not be informed in advance of making this commitment. Further correspondence will be provided to the Committees.
[HCWS30]