The public needs better understanding of drug regulation

doi:10.1136/bmj.332.7548.990-a

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Susan Mayor1

¹ London

Healthcare professionals and patients should be given more information on how new drugs are licensed, to avoid confusion like that surrounding access to trastuzumab (Herceptin) for women with early breast cancer, medicines policy experts have suggested.

Trastuzumab is currently licensed only in New Zealand for early breast cancer that is HER2 receptive, with licence applications for this indication currently being considered by European, US, and Australian drug regulators.

However, an investor …