§ Dr. David ClarkTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is the purpose, with particular reference to(a) safety and (b) efficacy of the secret trials currently being undertaken the use of bovine somatrophin in milk production.
§ Mr. Donald Thompson[holding answer 15 April 1988]: The trials which are being conducted by pharmaceutical companies in the United Kingdom and other countries are to provide information on the use of the product under field conditions. Before any such trial involving a medicinal product can take place in the United Kingdom it must be authorised by means of an animal test certificate (ATC) issued under the Medicines Act 1968. Such certificates are issued only when the safety of the product to be used in the trial has been satisfactorily demonstrated.
Section 118 of the Medicines Act prohibits the disclosure of any information supplied to the licensing authority as part of an application. It is therefore not possible to give details about the trials.