§ Mr. Deakinsasked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) whether he exercises any supervision over the export of drugs by United Kingdom companies to developing countries;
(2) whether steps are taken to inform other countries when drug product licences in the United Kingdom are withdrawn;
(3) if information about the granting and rejection of drug product licences in the United Kingdom is made available on request to health departments of developing countries.
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§ Mr. Andrew F. Bennettasked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether steps are taken by Her Majesty's Government to prevent drugs banned or not approved for use in the United Kingdom being manufactured in the United Kingdom for export to the Third world.
§ Mr. Kenneth ClarkeThe issue or revocation of a product licence in the United Kingdom for a medicinal product is published in theLondon Gazette and is therefore freely available. When a product licence is revoked on grounds of safety this information is transmitted to the World Health Organisation and member states of the European Community and could be made available, on request, to other countries.
Certain biological products, such as vaccines, may be exported only if those products are licensed in the United Kingdom. This provision does not apply to other products, but the licensing authority will issue at the request of another regulatory authority in another country a certificate relating to the legal status of a medicinal product in the United Kingdom. It would not, however, be reasonable to prohibit the export of a product to another country where differing social climatic or economic conditions may alter considerably the assessment of whether the risks associated with the product were outweighed by its benefits. It must be the responsibility of the importing country to determine what control it wishes to apply and to what extent it wishes to draw on the information that we can make available.
§ Mr. Deakinsasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what recent representations have been made by Her Majesty's Government to developing countries seeking to ban the import of drugs not considered essential.
§ Mr. Geoffrey FinsbergHer Majesty's Government have recently expressed concern to the Government of Bangladesh about the effects on that Government's new industrial policy of the implementation of the Drugs Ordinance 1982.