The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 271 No 7260 p141
2 August 2003

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EC loses anorectics appeal

The European Commission has lost its appeal against a European Court order that said the commission did not have the power to ban appetite suppressants three years ago (PJ, 8 April 2000, p529).

In March 2000, the EC ordered national regulatory authorities to cancel the marketing authorisations of the amphetamine-like anorectics amfepramone, clobenzorex, fenproporex, norpseudoephedrine and phentermine. It did this because the Committee for Proprietary Medicinal Products said that they lacked efficacy according to a new criterion.

The court ruled that the marketing authorisations were national authorisations not made under European mutual recognition rules, which meant the commission had no authority over them.