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EU to tighten control of herbal medicines
Last reviewed: 30.06.2025
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The EU will introduce licensing of drugs made from medicinal plants, The Independent reports. The relevant EU directive will come into force on May 1, 2011. The document is intended to ensure control over the distribution of herbal drugs amid growing concern among authorities about the side effects of such drugs. Over the past two years, the British Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has issued more than ten warnings about the use of drugs from this group. British organizations uniting specialists in medicinal plants have expressed concerns that licensing could lead to the washing out of such drugs from the market due to the high cost of the procedure. In particular, only 200 drugs made from 27 types of plants have the appropriate license in Europe. At the same time, in Great Britain alone, drugs based on 300 types of plants are used. According to the new European legislation, herbal remedies that have not undergone the licensing procedure will only be able to be prescribed by specialists included in the appropriate register. However, the UK authorities have postponed the creation of such a register indefinitely. Sir Alasdair Breckenridge, head of the MHRA, noted that the agency had received 166 requests for licensing of herbal medicines, 78 of which had been granted. In his opinion, natural origin does not mean that such products are safe. "It is extremely important that these drugs are prescribed by specialists who have undergone appropriate training," Breckenridge added.