|
 |
Towards the end of the year the EU Commission may finalise a proposal to ensure that medicines are adapted to the specific needs of children. Currently, the Commission is analysing reactions its ideas made public in a consultation paper at the end of last February.
More than half the medicines used for children are not tested for their paediatric suitability.
The EU document lists the objectives that any new rules aiming to remedy the shortage of child-specific medicines should meet, and suggests ways to attain them. Comments were invited from doctors, parents, pharmaceutical manufacturers, regulators or anyone having an interest in the matter.
The response was "generally positive and supportive," Dr Julia Dunne told me on the morrow of her assuming her new post in the Orphan and Paediatric Medicinal Products section of the DG Enterprise on July 1.
The EU paper was presented by Erkki Liikanen, EU Commissioner for Enterprise and Information Society, and David Byrne, EU Commissioner for Health and Consumer Protection. "To get the best and safest treatments for children across Europe," said Liikanen, "society must strike the right balance between incentives and regulatory obligations. We need to move forward on this important matter to ensure that both existing and new medicines are adapted to paediatric needs in the most resource-efficient manner for society as a whole.
Teacher: Michael
Many articles taken from 'A word with the doctor', by Dr. John Windsor.
|
Search
