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Searching for presence or absence of an excipient in medicines

Published
Topics: Excipients

Guidance on using the electronic medicines compendium (eMC) advanced search function, other suggested reference sources and tips for acting on search results.

Contents
  1. Excipients in medicines
    1. Licensed medicines
    2. Unlicensed medicines and other products
  2. Running an eMC advanced search
    1. Go to the eMC website
    2. Select advanced search
    3. Search documents 'By SmPC section'
    4. Enter the medicine you are looking for
    5. Exclude particular excipient(s)
    6. Search for suitable medicines
  3. Products not listed on eMC
    1. Hints and tips
  4. Acting on search results
    1. Suitable product identified
    2. Unable to find a suitable product

Excipients in medicines

Healthcare professionals may be asked to:

  • confirm if an excipient is present in a medicine
  • suggest a product that is free from a particular excipient

Our guidance understanding excipients in medicines explains why some people need to avoid particular excipients.

Licensed medicines

You can check product information for licensed medicines using the Summary of Product Characteristics (SmPC) or Patient Information Leaflet (PIL), to see if an excipient is listed.

SmPCs and PILs for most UK medicines are available on the electronic medicines compendium (eMC) or Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) products website. Manufacturers websites may also list SmPCs and PILs.

The eMC website is the often the most useful to find a medicine free from particular excipient(s). It’s advanced search function allows you to refine your search. This is particularly beneficial if there are several formulations or generic products of a medicine available.

Unlicensed medicines and other products

For ‘Specials’, unlicensed medicines, imported medicines and food supplements where a SmPC or PIL may not be available, you will usually have to contact the manufacturer directly.

Follow the steps listed below to find a medicine free from excipient(s).

Products not listed on eMC

You may want to broaden your search past the eMC advanced search if you are:

  • searching for a product not listed on the eMC
  • unable to find a suitable product using the eMC advanced search

To do this, you must manually search product information listed on the MHRA or manufacturers website for a particular medicine.

Hints and tips

If you have to resort to a manual search:

  • use the dm+d website to exclude products that are not available for prescribing
  • check section ‘7 Marketing Authorisation Holder’ of the SmPC to exclude products listed on the eMC
  • consider using the keyboard shortcut ‘Ctrl +F’ to search for a particular excipient (or manually check section 6.1 list of excipients)

Acting on search results

For most searches you should hopefully identify one or more products that may be suitable for your patient. However, on occasions, it may not be possible to identify a suitable medicine. We provide general hints and tips for how to proceed.

Suitable product identified

Once you have identified suitable product(s), consider the following:

  • document the brand(s) that are suitable
  • explore or ask the patient to explore which local pharmacies are able to obtain the required product(s) from their wholesalers
  • ask the dispensing pharmacy to check the dispensed or purchased product is free from the particular excipient
  • inform the patient to check the PIL of the dispensed product(s) each time they receive it
  • manage patient’s expectations that the same brand may not always be available and what to do if this occurs

Manufacturers can change the formulations of their products, it is important to confirm that a product is free from the particular excipient at the point of sale or dispensing. There can sometimes be a lag in updating the SmPC or pharmacies may have older stock, but the product in front of you will always contain the up to date and correct information.

Unable to find a suitable product

If you have been unable to find a product that is free from the particular excipient your patient needs to avoid, consider the following:

  • explore other treatment options for that condition
  • assess the risk to the patient if they are exposed to the excipient they need to avoid and consider the introduction of potential risk mitigation strategies

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