UK Approves Over-The-Counter Chlamydia Drug
Posted on: Wednesday, 6 August 2008, 15:37 CDT
In the UK, an antibiotic for Chlamydia is to be made available from pharmacists, without a prescription.
After testing positive for the infection or having sex with someone who tests positive, people over the age of 16 will be able to buy Clamelle.
The medicines regulator has decided the drug will be made available over-the-counter later this year.
Chlamydia can cause serious problems if left untreated, including infertility and possibly cancer in later life.
Rates of infection have soared in recent years, particularly among the young, alarming experts through the UK.
The drug, also called azithromycin, will still be available via the traditional route - either from a GP or a genito-urinary medicine clinic.
However, the reclassification of the drug in the UK as an "over the counter" medicine will offer a more convenient alternative for some patients, according to the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and pharmacists.
People can’t simply walk off the street and buy the drug without some evidence they have chlamydia, or are likely to have it. They will need a letter giving the results of either a postal test kit, also available in certain pharmacies, or a test carried out in a surgery or clinic.
The letter sent back from the manufacturers of the postal kit will include slips that can be torn off and handed to sexual partners, who can then produce these at pharmacies to buy their own supply of the antibiotic.
"Chlamydia is the most common sexually transmitted disease in the UK, and up to 70% of people who have it have no symptoms and could therefore remain undiagnosed,” said Dr. June Raine, from the MHRA.
"We are keen to support the availability of more medicines over the counter, where it is safe to do so."
The Royal Pharmaceutical Society, the professional body for pharmacists, supported the move.
"Reclassifying azithromycin will expand on existing services and improve access to chlamydia screening and treatment for patients," said Howard Duff, from the society.
Free testing and advice was still available from the NHS, said Natika Halil, from sexual health charity FPA.
“For people who are already testing themselves at home it is a really positive step forward that the treatment can now also be bought from pharmacies,” she said.
She said the decision will ensure fast and effective access to treatment and has the potential to play an important part in reducing rates of Chlamydia.
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Source: redOrbit Staff & Wire Reports
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