Date
22 May 2026Location
Online via Webex at 13:00 – 14:00About the event
This drop in session explored considerations for imported unlicensed medicines.
Why it’s important
Medicinal products supplied in the UK must have a UK marketing authorisation (product licence) except when there is a special clinical need that cannot be fulfilled by the use of a UK licensed medicine.
In these cases the use of unlicensed medicines can meet a patient’s clinical needs that would otherwise be unmet.
There are a range of different types of unlicensed medicines, and in this webinar we will explore considerations when sourcing and evaluating imported unlicensed medicines.
This session helped attendees by exploring:
- regulatory and safety considerations
- how to assess the quality and suitability of imported unlicensed medicines
- good governance arrangements for safely managing this type of product
Intended audience
The session was suitable for NHS:
- clinical pharmacy teams
- pharmacy procurement teams
- pharmacy quality assurance teams
- dispensary teams
- medicines advice teams
Register
Registration is now closed.
Video recording
Resources
The MHRA provides guidance on unlicensed medicinal products (specials).
NHS SPS guidance
Further useful NHS SPS resources are found here:
- SPS resources on unlicensed medicines and our unlicensed medicines podcast series
- SPS resource on understanding excipients in medicines
- SPS resource on searching for presence or absence of an excipient in medicines
- SPS resource on navigating a potential supply issue procurement guidance (SPS website log-in required)
- The SPS event on managing complexities of medication use across care boundaries is a Medicines Safety Across the System (MSATS) webinar that includes valuable real-world examples of safely managing unlicensed medicines
NHS Futures unlicensed medicines peer support network
An unlicensed medicines peer-support network is available to join on the Future NHS platform. It contains useful resources and a discussion forum, and provides a place to collaborate.
Update history
- Video recording added
- Published