PARLIAMENTARY WRITTEN QUESTION
Primodos (8 July 2014)

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what representations he has received on allegations that the Government was warned about the dangers of the pregnancy testing drug Primodos in 1967 but did not ban it until 1978; and what steps he has taken as a result of those representations.

Asked by:
Mr Toby Perkins (Labour)

Primodos was a Hormonal Pregnancy Test which became available in the United Kingdom in 1959 and was discontinued by the manufacturer for commercial reasons in 1978. Since June 2010, the Department and the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) have, between them, received 157 letters related to Primodos and there have been four Parliamentary Questions.In addition, there have been six meetings on the subject of Primodos in this period. The MHRA has considered the key evidence and concluded that the data are not sufficient to support a causal association between the use of Hormonal Pregnancy Tests and congenital abnormalities. The MHRA assessment was published on its website in April 2014.

Answered by:
Norman Lamb (Liberal Democrat)
15 July 2014