Volume 180 - Issue 4
Licensing thalidomide in Australia
Author: Colin L Crawford
Med J Aust 2004; 180 (4): 199-200. || doi: 10.5694/j.1326-5377.2004.tb05877.x
Published online: 16 February 2004
Published online: 16 February 2004
To the Editor: The Australian Drug Evaluation Committee (ADEC) has recommended that thalidomide be approved for the management of erythema nodosum leprosum. This recommendation has now been accepted by the Therapeutic Goods Administration. Was ADEC unaware that the World Health Organization no longer recommends thalidomide in the management of this complication of lepromatous leprosy?1,2
References
- Pannikar V. The return of thalidomide: new uses and renewed concerns. Available at: www.who.int/lep/TAG/Thal.doc (accessed Jan 2004).
- WHO Leprosy Team. No role for thalidomide in leprosy. 2003. Available at: www.paho.org/English/AD/DPC/CD/thalidomide.htm (accessed Jan 2004).