- Prescribing Advice for GPs - https://www.prescriber.org.uk -

Drug Safety Update - November 2012

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has published Drug Safety Update for November 2012 (PDF).

This update contains hot topic information advising clinicians that when reporting suspected adverse drug reactions to biological medicines, such as biosimilar products or vaccines, it is important to include the brand name and if possible the batch number. Products in this category may not be identical and reporting may also help to identify concerns related to specific batches.

This section also contains the findings of a safety review of the HPV vaccine Cervarix® which confirmed that the "balance of its risks and benefits remains clearly positive".

Finally, this issue contains a link to a new learning module for antipsychotics. This module is accredited for up to 3.5 CPD credits.

Action: Clinicians will find this publication to be a useful review of current issues in drug safety.