Anthroposophic medicine
“It is not a matter of being in opposition to the school of medicine that is working with the accepted scientific methods of the present time. We fully acknowledge its principles. And in our view, the approach we present should only be used by those who are fully able and entitled to practise medicine according to those principles.
We do, however, add further insights to such knowledge of the human being as is now available through accepted scientific methods. These are gained by different methods, and we therefore feel compelled to work for an extension of clinical medicine, based on these wider insights into the nature of the world and the human being.”
Dr. Rudolf Steiner and Dr. Ita Wegman, Extending Practical Medicine (1925)
Availability of anthroposophic medicinal products (AMP)
Anthroposophic medicinal products are on the market in certain EU member states under registration procedures that predate EU framework legislation for medicinal products for human use. The EU Community Code relating to medicinal products for human use does not recognise AMP, whereas it does, for example, recognize homeopathic MP via special simplified registration procedures. This has far-reaching consequences for marketing authorisation and registration of AMP within the European Union. Only about one third of AMPs – those manufactured in accordance with homeopathic pharmacopoeias – and another third of AMPs – those which meet the criteria for traditional medicinal herbal products (restricted however to oral or external use without indication) – can be registered under simplified registration procedures. Under procedures of the Community code relating to medicinal products for human use, over 40 percent of AMP – encompassing the majority of AMP prescribed by doctors, with indications, and administered other than orally or externally – require market authorisation similar to that for conventional pharmaceutical products. These procedures, however, do not take account of the special features and manufacturing methods of AMP, and are therefore not appropriate. This was one of the reasons to initiate ESCAMP – European Scientific Cooperative on Anthroposophic Medicinal Products www.escamp.org, an international cooperative of researchers and experts in the field of anthroposophic medicinal products of which EFPAM is a member of the Advisory Board of.
For more information on the current situation: www.ivaa.info/about-anthroposophic-medicine/medicinal-products/