Bioidentical Hormones by N Panay, on behalf of the British Menopause Society medical advisory council. Written September 2017

Trustees and Members of the Medical Advisory Council of the British Menopause Society are concerned about the safety of unregulated bioidentical hormonal therapy which is being prescribed by clinicians who do not usually have any recognised menopause training and provided from compounding pharmacies. It should be noted that such products are not regulated, licensed nor monitored by the MHRA, which is the regulatory body in the UK with responsibility to ensure that medicines meet applicable standards of safety, quality and efficacy. The term ‘bioidentical hormones’ is misleading; when Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) is indicated, women should be advised

to only take those hormone therapies that are regulated and approved by the MHRA, which include hormones which are natural and identical to those produced in the body.

This view is supported by international bodies:

“The use of custom-compounded hormone therapy is not recommended because of lack of regulation, rigorous safety and efficacy testing, batch standardization, and purity measures.” (T. J. de Villiers, J. E. Hall, J. V. Pinkerton, S. Cerdas Pérez, M. Rees, C. Yang & D. D. Pierroz (2016): Revised Global Consensus Statement on Menopausal Hormone Therapy, Climacteric, DOI: 10.1080/13697137.2016.1196047)