However, experts have warned the medicines most needed by children maynot be developed if funding is only made available throughpharmaceutical companies.
Drug companies focus on making medicines for adults because the marketis larger and more profitable. Developing medicines for children iscostly and difficult, as children's requirements change as they grow. Asa result, more than 50 per cent of medicines used to treat children areunlicensed, or "off-label", because they have not been adequately testedor authorised for use by children.
The regulations will require all companies creating new medicines foradults to test whether they can also be used for children, unless theycan show there is no demand for them.
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