§ Mr. BakerTo ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how those human vaccines which contained bovine material prohibited for use in the human food chain were disposed of when a ban was introduced on the use of those vaccines; [75095]
(2) on what date it was decided to discontinue use of human vaccines which contained bovine materials prohibited for use in the human food chain; [75094]
(3) if he will make a statement on the use prior to 1996 in human vaccines of bovine material prohibited for use in the food chain. [75096]
§ Ms JowellVaccines licensed for use in the United Kingdom do not contain, in the finished product, bovine materials prohibited for use in the human food chain. However, bovine material is used in the early stage of manufacture of some vaccines which are subject to rigorously controlled purification processes.
In March 1989, the Committee of the Safety of Medicines issued guidelines regarding the controls on the sourcing of bovine material used in the manufacture of pharmaceuticals. These were superseded by 'Guidelines for Minimising the Risk of Transmitting Agents causing Spongiform Encephalopathies via Medicinal Products' from the Committee for Proprietary Medicinal Products in 1992. The guidelines have been updated to reflect developments in scientific knowledge and require animal-derived materials to be sourced from countries with no reported cases of bovine spongiform encephalopathy.
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