Campaigners welcome medicine watchdog’s HRT rethink
Campaigners have welcomed news that two new HRT drugs may soon be prescribed in Scotland but say it should never have taken so long.
We reported in January how a drug called Utrogestan was not being offered to the majority of menopausal women in Scotland because the Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC) turned it down in 2009 due to its cost and never reconsidered the decision.
The issue was raised again on Monday when Davina Mccall’s Channel 4 latest documentary on menopause aired, prompting calls for better access to the HRT which is routinely available in England. Utrogestan, derived from plants, is a new “body-identical” treatment mirroring natural hormones. Since the estrogen is taken through the skin, it is deemed to be far safer than the old combined estrogen and progesterone pills.
Last week, the SMC said another company now owned the rights to the medicine and it had been encouraged to resubmit its application.
This means, rather than doctors prescribing it “off licence”, it would become one of the options suggested to GPS when it comes to HRT to relieve menopause symptoms. The drug’s new manufacturers, Besins, told The
Sunday Post the company started speaking to the SMC in January and hoped to submit an application. The SMC also revealed an application was submitted last week for HRT drug, Bijuve, with a decision expected in the next four months. Bijuve, manufactured by Theramex, combines estradiol and progesterone and has been shown to drastically reduce menopausal symptoms.
Kate Muir, producer of Mccall’s documentary, said: “It’s brilliant that the Scottish Medicines Consortium is taking action to help women access Utrogestan, after it was turned down for use for economic reasons 13 years ago. It’s been a long haul and let’s hope the new body-identical pill will get approval more swiftly. Having a wider choice of the safer HRTS will make a big difference to women’s health.”
Dorothy Byrne, former head of news and current affairs at Channel 4, who commissioned Mccall’s first landmark menopause documentary last year, added: “It should have happened sooner but this is great news. The campaigning needs to continue.
“Women for whom these drugs are suitable have the right to ready access to them. Testosterone should also be available on prescription. And every major company should have a written menopause policy like Channel 4.”