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Dept of Health

Answer

Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) if he will estimate what proportion of medicines prescribed to (a) children and (b) infants have never been tested on children or infants; [194246] (2) for what proportion of medicines prescribed to (a) children and (b) infants there is no agreed level of dosage; [194252] (3) what recent assessment he has made of drugs which are not licensed for that purpose being used for the treatment of children; [194255] (4) what percentage of medicines used for treatment of children do not have a dosage approved by the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency; and if he will make a statement. [194258] Ms Rosie Winterton: The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) does not have access to data in a form that would allow any of the requested estimates to be made. For many medicines, there is a dosage regimen for use in children and infants which has been agreed by an authoritative body of health professionals, based on clinical experience, medical practice and evidence from the published literature. Such dosage regimens, for example, are set out in the Medicines for Children Formulary, which is published by the Royal College of Paediatricians and Child Health and is to be replaced in 2005 by the British National Formulary for children, published by the British Medical Association and the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain. However, the dosage regimens, although agreed by health professionals, are not necessarily authorised by the MHRA. We are unable to provide the percentage of medicines that do not have an authorised dosage regimen for use in children, as we do not hold data in that form. In addition, some medicines are authorised for some, but not all appropriate, paediatric age ranges.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

426 c317W; 194246;194252;194255;194258

Session

2003-04

Subjects

Children Drugs NHS Medical treatments Testing

Link

View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk