21,000 say 'Save Our Clinical Trials'
Added: (Fri Jan 30 2004)
Pressbox (Press Release) -
After several months campaigning, including flying to Brussels to lobby the EU Commission and meeting the Department of Health in London, children's cancer charity Leukaemia Busters is set to present a petition on MONDAY 2nd FEBRUARY 2004 AT 1PM to the Prime Minister in the latest stage of its campaign to safeguard the future of clinical trials in the UK.
Clinical trials in the UK are under threat from a new European Directive, 2001/20/EC (the implementation of good clinical practice in the conduct of clinical trials on medicinal products for human use). If it is implemented, charities, NHS Hospitals and Universities would still be able to carry on with laboratory research into some of the most deadly diseases known to children and adults, but it would almost certainly mean an end to pioneering clinical trials that have been the foundation of the discovery of new treatments in this country and mean that newly discovered treatments might not ever reach real patients.
The petition has been signed by celebrity supporters of the charity including former England Cricket Captain David Gower, and Portsmouth FC Manager, Harry Redknapp along with Teddy Sheringham and other members of the premiership football team.
Presenting the petition will be the founder and Honorary Scientific Director of the charity, Dr David Flavell, and his wife Dr Bee Flavell. The Flavells lost their son to leukaemia at the age of 10 and have dedicated their lives ever since to finding a cure for the killer disease. Joining them will be fellow supporters of the petition including cross party political support from the Rt. Hon. John Denham MP (Labour), Alan Whitehead MP (Labour), Sandra Gidley MP (Lib Dem), Chris Huhne MEP (Lib Dem) and Roy Perry MEP (Conservative).