British soldiers receiving experimental drug

A British politician called for the military to stop treating wounded soldiers with a drug that has not been approved for use on civilians.

Liberal Democrat’s Phil Willis said use of the blood-clotting agent NovoSeven was “a dereliction of its duty of care that indicates a moral bankruptcy within the military”. The Defence Ministry confirmed that the drug, which is licensed for use in Britain to help stop bleeding in haemophiliacs, was being used on wounded troops with severe bleeding.

The ministry said the drug was authorised “after an extensive review of the current evidence. It is strictly controlled and only authorised when conventional medical treatments have failed”.

Willis said he planned to raise the issue in Parliament when lawmakers return from their break next month. “What I think is unacceptable is that our soldiers are going into battle in Afghanistan and Iraq, they are risking their lives on a daily basis,” he told British Broadcasting Corp radio. “The last thing we should be doing is treating them with any drug which may not in fact be fully licensed for use on civilians in the UK.”

AP