Abstract

In the UK no medicine can be marketed for human use without a Product Licence granted by the Licensing Authority (Ministers of Health).¹ Licensing arrangements, which are determined by the Medicines Act 1968 and implemented through the Medicines Control Agency (MCA), constrain drug companies but leave doctors free to prescribe unlicensed drugs or use drugs for unlicensed indications. This article discusses how the licensing status affects prescribing.