BSE In the Uk And Gelatin Capsules

On March 21, the BBC television program Newsnight raised the concern that medicines are produced in gelatin capsules made of beef bones, the problem being that if UK beef were used, bovine spongiform encephalopathy might be transmitted to the vulnerable in society.

the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry has refuted this by saying that the industry stopped using gelatin capsules from suppliers using UK beef bone since 1991. License applications include a requirement to disclose the constituents of all parts of the process of the product, including binding agents and ingredients of the capsules. This led to the cessation of UK beef bones being used in any processes following the initial, disturbing findings on UK beef and BSE.

Also, says the ABPI, the industry in the UK has complied with the guidelines introduced by the Committee on the Safety of Medicines in 1989 for drug products containing materials originating in cattle. Since 1992, there have been European Union-wide guidelines with which the industry has complied, it says, adding that these guidelines were reviewed and reconfirmed by a European committee as recently as February 1996, and remain under active review. "The pharmaceutical industry and the regulatory authorities have taken extensive action to ensure that medicines which include cattle-derived products are as safe as possible and can be used with every confidence by patients," says the ABPI.