§ Mr. Ashleyasked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) pursuant to his reply of 15 April to the right hon. Member for Stoke-on-Trent, South, if he will give, for each of the 10 studies which the Committee on Safety of Medicines considered in its review of the safety of Debendox, the number of women in each sample who had taken Debendox; whether the number includes women who took Debendox in middle or late pregnancy; and, if so, if he will give for each study, where the information is available, the number of women taking Debendox in the early stages of pregnancy;
(2) if he will give the average number per year of cases of deformed babies born to women who had taken Debendox during pregnancy that were reported to his Department during the years 1963 to 1979; and if he will give the number that has been reported during 1980.
§ Dr. VaughanThe following table gives the information requested in those instances in which the report of the study distinguishes the period at which Debendox, or its ingredients, was prescribed.
199WThe average number of cases of congenital abnormality, in the babies of mothers who were prescribed Debendox during pregnancy, reported to the Committee on Safety of Medicines between 1963 and 1979, was seven per year. Sixty-three reports have been received during 1980, of which less than a half relate to this year.