UK Parliament home

This petition was submitted during the 2010 to 2015 Parliament

View other petitions from this Parliament

Closed Drugs out of patent - eg Tamoxifen

Closed on

Pharmaceutical firms apply for licences for drug use. But as drugs age and patents expire, drugs are often found to have new uses. Pharma may refuse to apply for licences for these new uses, and benefits thus lost.

Tamoxifen is one such drug. It is currently used to treat breast cancer. It is now out of patent and has a potential use protecting women at high risk from developing this killer disease.

The Department of Health needs to take over the licencing of out-of-patent drugs so that they can be used without hindrance for novel use and public benefit.

37 signatures

Show on a map

10,000

Petition progress

View all updates for this petition, with the most recent first.

  • Petition closed

  • Petition published

    This petition can now be signed.

    If this petition gets 10,000 signatures, government will respond to it.

    If this petition gets 100,000 signatures, it will be considered for debate in Parliament.

    This petition will stay open until 12 November 2013.