VITAMIN D will be included in Appendix H of the Australian medicines schedule, allowing for the direct to consumer advertising, under a recommendation from the TGA's Advisory Committee on Medicines Scheduling (ACMS).
The committee concluded that "access for high-risk consumers to a once-weekly dose of Vitamin D from a pharmacist for effective ongoing supplementation is likely to be beneficial and safe".
The recommended implementation date for the change is 01 Jun, with the ACMS saying that the compliance benefits, low-risk nature of the product and safeguards inherent in Schedule 3 "mean the benefits of advertising the availability of this product exceed any potential risks".
Other recommendations from the committee's Nov meeting included an amended Schedule 2 entry for paracetamol and caffeine combinations, while the listings for cetirizine hydrochloride were both amended for S2 and S4.
New S4 entries are being created for tianeptine, olaparib, ceritinib, brivaracetam, guanfacine and follitropin delta, with a consultation period on the changes now open for input until 16 Feb - tga.gov.au.
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