Hormone Replacement Therapy

(asked on 14th July 2020) - View Source

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress his Department has made on tackling the shortage of Hormone Therapy Replacement patches.


Answered by
Jo Churchill Portrait
Jo Churchill
Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
This question was answered on 3rd August 2020

We have been working closely with all suppliers of Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) preparations to maintain overall supply to patients. Supplies of alternative HRT products continue to remain available and the situation has been improving steadily since the end of February 2020.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has made an assessment of the clinical and cost effectiveness of HRT, including transdermal patches, and has made recommendations on their use in its guideline on menopause: diagnosis and management [NG23].

The safety and efficacy of individual products that are authorised for the relief of oestrogen deficiency symptoms associated with the menopause are assessed at the time each product is licensed and safety is continuously monitored once it is on the market.

Most post-marketing studies examine the safety of HRT products as a group and the safety of HRT products as a class has been kept under continuous review by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) in conjunction with its independent scientific advisory body, the Commission on Human Medicines (CHM) and its Expert Advisory Group on Medicines for Women’s Health. Likewise, the safety of licensed medicines and herbal products that are used as alternatives to HRT are continuously monitored by the MHRA and advice sought from the CHM, as needed, when new safety issues arise.

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