Medicines regulation and law

EMA makes recommendations to reduce methotrexate dosing errors

Only doctors with expertise in using methotrexate-containing medicines should be able to prescribe them, the European Medicines Agency’s Pharmacovigilance Risk Assessment Committee has recommended.…

UK trials not needed for medical cannabis licensing process, says Hancock

Medical cannabis will not need to be tested through randomised controlled trials in the UK in order to be licensed, health secretary Matt Hancock has told MPs.…

The bar must not be lowered for medical cannabis

There have been calls to loosen regulations around medical cannabis to increase access for those who need it, but the government must resist and view cannabis with the same scrutiny as any other new medicine.…

Pharmacists advised to check legal status of CBD products before supply or risk indemnity breach

Pharmacists selling or supplying cannabis-based products for medicinal use or cannabidiol-containing products must check the status of the product or risk not being protected by indemnity insurance, the National Pharmacy Association has warned.…

Alzheimer’s drug reduces illicit opioid use in methadone recipients

People who take methadone use fewer illicit opioids when galantamine is added to their therapy, research shows.…

RPS asks Home Office for guidance on THC levels in cannabidiol oil

The Royal Pharmaceutical Society has written to the Home Secretary calling for “clear guidance” on the permissable level of psychoactive tetrahydrocannabidol in cannabidiol oils.…

Medical cannabis should not face usual regulatory checks, says former health minister

Medical cannabis products should not be subject to the usual regulatory checks before patients can use them, as cannabis is “the oldest medicine of all”, Sir Norman Lamb has said.…

No-deal Brexit could put UK at greater risk from falsifed medicines, HDA director tells MPs

Leaving the EU without a deal would likely result in the UK being “unplugged” from the Falsified Medicines Directive, Martin Sawer, executive director of the Healthcare Distribution Association, has told a select committee of MPs.…

NPA chair steps aside during competition law investigation

Nitin Sodha has stepped aside as chair of the National Pharmacy Association amid investigations by the Competition and Markets Authority relating to allegations of “illegal market sharing” against a drug company that lists Sodha as a director.…

EMA committee says cough medicines containing fenspiride should not be marketed

A European Medicines Agency committee has recommended that marketing authorisations for cough medicines containing fenspiride should be revoked, meaning they will no longer be marketed in the EU.…