HL Deb 06 June 1994 vol 555 c72WA
The Countess of Mar

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether pyrodostigmine bromide is licensed for use as a nerve agent pre-treatment set on healthy people, and if so what is the licence number; and

Whether they are conducting research into the effects of nerve agent pre-treatment sets when used under stressful conditions.

Viscount Cranborne

Responsibility for the subject of these questions has been delegated to the Director General of the Chemical and Biological Defence Establishment. The agency is therefore responding to the questions.

Letter to the Countess of Mar from the Director General of the Chemical and Biological Defence Establishment, Mr. Graham Pearson:

  1. 1. Your Parliamentary Questions to Her Majesty's Government of 16th May 1994 asking whether pyridostigmine bromide is licensed for use as a nerve agent pre-treatment set for healthy people and for its licence number and whether research is being conducted into the effects of nerve agent pre-treatment sets when used under stressful conditions have been passed to me to answer as Chief Executive of the Chemical and Biological Defence Establishment.
  2. 2. The role of the Chemical and Biological Defence Establishment at Porton Down is to ensure that the UK Armed Forces have effective protective measures against the threat that chemical or biological weapons may be used against them. As such it is necessary to evaluate the effectiveness of medical countermeasures. There is no research being conducted into the effects of Nerve Agent Pre-treatment Set (NAPS) when used under stressful conditions such as those experienced in warfare. There have been a number of studies carried out to evaluate the use of pyridostigmine in providing effective protection against nerve agent poisoning. These studies concluded that pyridostigmine gives considerable protection against all organophosphorus nerve agents with no significant adverse effects.
  3. 3. Pyridostigmine bromide is the subject of a monograph in the British Pharmacopoeia and is licensed in the UK by Roche Products Limited as a treatment for myasthenia gravis, paralytic ileus and post-operative urinary retention. In adults with myasthenia gravis the total daily dose is usually in the range 300–1200 mg, often over a period of many years or for life. The daily dosage for NAPS is 90 mg.
  4. 4. Pyridostigmine bromide was licensed to the Ministry of Defence by the Medicines Control Agency under Product Licence Number 4537/0003 for use in the pre-treatment of service personnel at risk from poisoning from organophosphorus nerve agents.