Arnica has become the first Homeopathic remedy to be granted a licence by the UK medicines regulator under its new scheme for complementary therapies.

 

Arnica has been licensed as a remedy for relief of sprains, muscular aches and bruising or swelling after contusions.

The remedy in 30c pillules is the first to be approved under the Homeopathic National Rules Scheme and has been granted the licence by the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency ( MHRA)

Manufacturers of homeopathic remedies were previously banned from listing the clinical conditions or “indications” that products might be used to treat.

Robert Wilson, chairman of Nelsons, the largest manufacturer of national healthcare products in Britain,  said that the fact that therapeutic indications could be included on the packaging “not only opens the practice of homeopathy up to new users but also gives it added credibility as a safe and natural complement to conventional medicine”.

The MHRA said that the National Rules scheme was introduced to resolve an inconsistency in European legislation that meant that homeopathic products introduced before 1992 could state indications for their use, whereas remedies approved after that date could not make such claims.

A spokeswoman for the Agency said that the National Rules Scheme “involves the assessment of quality, safety and consumer information”.

“This means that if an applicant can demonstrate that their product has been used in the UK homeopathic tradition for the relief or treatment of specific minor conditions or symptoms then the applicant may be granted a homeopathic marketing authorisation.”