Written question asked by Lord Bellingham (Conservative) on Tuesday, 2 July 2002, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 24 July 2002. It was answered by Lord Hutton of Furness (Labour) on Wednesday, 24 July 2002 on behalf of the Department of Health.

Dept of Health

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether Powderject has guaranteed that the smallpox vaccine to be supplied by them will be free of BSE.

Answer: Mr. Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether Powderject has guaranteed that the smallpox vaccine to be supplied by them will be free of BSE. [67539] Mr. Hutton: The smallpox vaccine to be supplied by Powderject is not manufactured using bovine cell culture. If a manufacturer wished to produce smallpox vaccine using virus culture in bovine cells, the appropriate regulatory guidance on cell characterisation and storage would have to be followed. European legislation demands that an application for marketing authorisation of a medicinal product in the European Union must include satisfactory demonstration of compliance with the European Note for Guidance on minimising the risk of transmitting animal spongiform encephalopathy agents via human and veterinary medicinal products.

Secondary information