Sodium Valproate

(asked on 13th December 2022) - View Source

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will set targets for the (a) reduction and (b) end of the use of sodium valproate other than in exceptional circumstances.


Answered by
Maria Caulfield Portrait
Maria Caulfield
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
This question was answered on 20th December 2022

While sodium valproate is authorised for the treatment of epilepsy and bipolar disorder, other medicines are available to treat these conditions. Currently, sodium valproate should not be used in pregnancy unless another suitable treatment is unavailable. It should not be used in women of childbearing potential unless the conditions of the Valproate Pregnancy Prevention Programme are fulfilled.

On 12 December, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency highlighted concerns regarding ongoing exposure to valproate in pregnancy and made recommendations for new safety measures to be put in place. Concerns on the use of sodium valproate are associated with reproduction and may not be applicable to all patients. In due course, the new safety measures will require all patients under 55 years old receiving sodium valproate to be reviewed and for two specialists to independently consider and document that there are no other effective or tolerated treatments. No specific targets have been determined, as it is unclear what proportion of patients require sodium valproate when other medicines are not effective or tolerated.

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