The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 269 No 7215 p352
14 September 2002

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Medicines Control Agency (www.mca.gov.uk)

MCA reports £3.5m loss for 2001/2

The Medicines Control Agency reported a £3.5m deficit for the year to 31 March 2002. The deficit is part of a long-term strategy to reduce surpluses built up during the 1990s.

In its annual report, the MCA says that during the year, 29 applications for new drugs were assessed covering 23 new active substances. These were assessed in an average of 33 working days, three days less than the previous year. In addition, 1,270 abridged and 707 change of ownership applications were considered. Applications for parallel import licences increased by 18 per cent to 2,851.

The MCA received 19,254 spontaneous reports of suspected adverse drug reactions in the United Kingdom, of which 3 per cent were fatal. A total of 553 reports were received from community pharmacists, either directly or via pharmaceutical companies, and 1,902 reports from hospital pharmacists.

Annual reports for the advisory bodies set up under the Medicines Act 1968, including the Medicines Commission and the Committee on Safety of Medicines, have also been published by the Department of Health as a single report. Copies of this (ISBN 1 900731 25 8, price £15) and the MCA annual report (ISBN 0 10 291770 1, price £16.60) can be obtained from The Stationery Office (tel 0870 600 5522).