Written question asked by Lord Mann (Labour) on Tuesday, 29 October 2002, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 7 November 2002. It was answered by Hazel Blears (Labour) on Thursday, 7 November 2002 on behalf of the Department of Health.

Dept of Health

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans he has to ensure that biological drugs brought into the UK by parallel importers maintain their temperature integrity during transport.

Answer: John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to ensure that biological drugs brought into the UK by parallel importers maintain their temperature integrity during transport. [78490] Ms Blears: United Kingdom legislation places an obligation on licensed distributors and importers of medicinal products to exercise control over the distribution chain, to ensure that the medicinal products are handled, stored and distributed under the necessary conditions to avoid deterioration of the products Inspectors from the Medicines Control Agency (MCA) inspect parallel importers in the UK at regular intervals. The inspectors review records relating to the maintenance of temperature integrity during transportation of the imported products to ensure that they have not been exposed to unacceptable conditions.

Secondary information