MHRA WARNS AGAINST AYURVEDIC DRUGS IN THE UK

The UK's Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has advised consumers in the country to stop taking certain Indian Ayurvedic drugs following a similar decision made by Canadian regulatory body Health Canada. The move comes after a controversial report published in the Journal of the American Medical Association accused a number of Indian Ayurvedic drugs of containing high-levels of heavy metals. According to the MHRA, a number of the drugs available in the country may include mercury, arsenic or lead, which can cause symptoms such as nausea and abdominal pain, or more seriously, kidney damage.

Elsewhere, concerns are growing about the amount of fake medicines on the UK market after a second counterfeit batch of blockbuster cholesterol drug Lipitor was discovered by the MHRA inside two months. As a result, the body has ordered fresh inquiries into pharmaceutical wholesalers in the country. The MHRA does not believe the drugs entered the country through parallel imports and is instead tracing supply routes inside the UK.