§ 18. Sir T. Mooreasked the Minister of Health whether he has yet reached a decision regarding the suggestion made 18 by the hon. Member for Ayr of prohibiting manufacturers from putting new drugs on the market without prior submission to his advisory committee for authority to do so.
§ Mr. PowellNo, Sir. I await further advice from my Standing Medical Advisory Committee.
§ Sir T. MooreI know that, but would my right hon. Friend at least consider preventing the continued production or importation of any drug which is known to have been taken by a pregnant mother whose child as a result has been born deformed?
§ Mr. PowellIf my hon. Friend has reason to suppose that such a drug is still being imported or marketed, I should be glad to have the information, but I am sure that on such a matter I ought to act upon the advice of the Committee.
§ Mr. ManuelIn view of the vast number of complaints he is now getting about new drugs coming on to the market without proper research having been done before sale, does not the Minister consider that he should think again about the whole question? We are now getting many complaints from constituents about side-effects of new drugs. This question is now so important that the Minister ought to take a real interest in it and ban the sale of new drugs until there has been proper research into their side-effects.
§ Mr. PowellI am indeed taking a real interest in this. The hon. Member may recall that my Sub-committee advised the appointment of an expert body to review the evidence on the toxicity of new drugs, and I am awaiting further advice from that Committee.