Opposition parties yesterday called for improved scrutiny of links between government health advisers and drug companies amid accusations of a potential conflict of interest involving the chairman of the committee that approved the new five-in-one inoculation for infants.
Michael Langman, the chairman of the joint committee on vaccination and immunisation (JCVI), has declared a "non-personal interest" in Merck Sharp & Dohme (MSD), one of two drug companies that own the vaccine's sole supplier, because it provides "industrial support" for his work as a professor of medicine at Birmingham University.
The relationship is declared on the committee's website but over the weekend Conservatives called for changes in the way vaccines are considered and the Liberal Democrats also voiced reservations.
The vaccine, developed by Aventis Pasteur MSD, a joint venture betweek MSD and Aventis Pasteur, is said by government officials to be an improvement on the previous four-in-one combination for diphtheria, whooping cough, tetanus and Hib, and the separate oral polio vaccine. It will be used from the end of this month.
Prof Langman was not speaking to the media yesterday but a Department of Health spokeswoman said: "Prof Langman has not received any personal benefit from Aventis Pasteur MSD since becoming chairman of the JCVI.
"He has declared all his interests in strict accordance with the code of practice. Prof Langman has a non-personal interest in Merck Sharp & Dohme. The funding from this goes straight to his university and includes support for a clinical trial in colorectal cancer and for advice on chronic digestive disease.
"The code makes clear that in such cases of non-personal interests, it is not necessary for people to stand aside from the work of the committee. The declarations of interests' code of practice reflects the advice of the Committee on Public Appointments."
Prof Langman declared similar non-personal interests in two other companies, Astra and Novartis.
Other committtee members also declared interests. Andrew Hall, of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, received non-personal industrial support from MSD in 1998, while Keith Cartwright, a bacteriologist with the Health Protection Agency, and David Goldblatt, of the Institute of Child Health and Great Ormond Street hospital, reported similar support from Aventis Pasteur.
Andrew Lansley, the health spokesman for the Conservatives, said: "It would be far better if decisions about vaccines and their use by the NHS were made in the same way as decisions on other medicines, ie with an independent appraisal from the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (Nice)."
Such a suggestion is unlikely to cut any ice with the government. Nice does not pass judgement on safety, which is the responsibility of regulatory agencies in both Britain and Europe.
Nice spotlights effectiveness and value-for-money within the NHS and it has public consultations during the process. Ministers would have no wish for vaccine sceptics to challenge policy within such a framework. In addition, vaccine policy is determined for the UK as a whole, not just in England and Wales, where Nice's remit runs.
