To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment his Department has made of the clinical effectiveness of polypills combining statins for cholesterol reduction with low doses of other safe and effective medicines that reduce blood pressure. [R]

The Department has met the original Polypill authors on a number of occasions. The initial conclusions were that this type of approach would be more suitable in developing countries rather than in more sophisticated health care systems such as ours where tailored therapy is more the norm.

The Department is currently exploring how to reassess this issue in the light of fresh interest in the topic.