In April 1994, Richard Barr,[37] a solicitor, succeeded in winning legal aid for the pursuit of a class action against the manufacturers of MMR vaccines under the UK Consumer Protection Act 1987. The class action case was aimed at Aventis Pasteur, SmithKlineBeecham, and Merck, manufacturers respectively of Immravax, Pluserix-MMR and MMR II.[38] This suit, based on a claim that MMR is a defective product and should not have been used, was the first big class action lawsuit funded by the Legal Aid Board (which became the Legal Services Commission, which in turn was replaced by the Legal Aid Agency) after its formation in 1988. Noticing two publications from Andrew Wakefield that explored the role of measles virus in Crohn's disease and inflammatory bowel disease,[39][40] Barr contacted Wakefield for his expertise.