Red tape blamed for HRT drug stockpiles
Campaigners caution against foreign imports while bureaucracy delays release of existing stock
Supplies of HRT are “stuck in warehouses” as a result of red tape, campaigners have said, as they cautioned against importing unlicensed versions. Manufacturers are in talks with the new HRT tsar as part of efforts to find a solution to the supply crisis. Last night, campaigners urged ministers to consider unlocking existing stock that has already been licensed by regulators but is stuck in warehouses because bureaucracy has delayed its release.
SUPPLIES of HRT are “stuck in warehouses” as a result of red tape, campaigners have said, as they caution against importing unlicensed versions.
Manufacturers are in talks with the new HRT tsar as part of efforts to find a solution to the supply crisis. One proposal understood to be under consideration involves imports of unlicensed stocks from abroad.
However, last night campaigners urged ministers to consider other options, saying existing stock that has already been licensed by regulators was stuck in warehouses because bureaucracy has delayed its release.
The Royal College of GPS and Royal College of Obstetrics and Gynaecologists also joined calls for pharmacists to be allowed to provide substitute treatments for those which have run out.
Some of the most popular forms of hormone treatment are being rationed, with prescriptions limited to three months, as part of efforts to ensure there is enough to go around.
HRT is one of several products affected by manufacturing and supply chain problems, while demand has risen by two thirds in the past year.
Legally, any medicine can be prescribed once the Medicines and Healthcare products and Regulatory Agency gives it the green light, but the NHS has a system of local prescribing committees that make their own recommendations.
This leaves a time lag until products are added to local lists – or formularies – which advise GPS what to prescribe.
However, Carolyn Harris MP, cochairwoman of the UK menopause taskforce, has written to Sajid Javid, the Health Secretary, urging him to order changes to the system so that pharmacies receive stocks more quickly.
Ms Harris said there is existing Mhra-licensed stock in UK warehouses, which “could be in pharmacies in a matter of days but is currently on warehouse shelves because it’s not listed on local formularies”.
She said: “We are asking that HRT products are made automatically available on the local formulary so that doctors know they are available.”
Last week, Theramex, the manufacturer of Bijuve – a substitute for Oestrogel, which faces significant shortages – said it had ample supply to meet demand but NHS rules meant it was available in just three areas of the UK.
About 150 NHS hospital trusts and 130 clinical commissioning groups have yet to approve Bijuve, so only women in Somerset, Norfolk and Oxford can get it.
Ms Harris said importing unlicensed medicines could involve older forms of HRT, rather than the treatments that are in short supply. “Given we hold the stock on our own shores, surely we should look closer to home,” she said.
However, health officials said that while GPS were “encouraged” to apply the recommendations from local formularies, they are not obliged to restrict themselves to them.
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesman said: “We are considering a number of options to make sure women can continue to access these vital products.”