UK’s MHRA cracks down on substitution of some epilepsy drugs

In what is seen as an exception to conventional international rulings, the UK’s Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has issued new guidance to prescribers, pharmacists and patients in relation to anti-epileptic drugs (AEDs).

This follows a review by the Commission on Human Medicines (CHM) which looked at the evidence on patients switching between different manufacturers’ products of particular AEDs. The CHM concluded that, while there was no clear evidence of harm associated with switching products, an effect in some patients, for some drugs, could not be completely ruled out.