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Pharmacy > Sodium Benzoate, Carglumic Acid and Mepacrine

Freedom of Information request Sodium Benzoate, Carglumic Acid and Mepacrine

Response published: 27 August 2026
Pharmacy

FOI Request

Dear Freedom of Information Team, I am writing to make a request for information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000. Could you please provide the following information for the most recent complete 12-month period for which data is available (please state the period covered): For each of the following three medicines: 1. Sodium Benzoate tablets/capsules 500mg 2. Carglumic Acid 100mg powder for oral suspension 3. Mepacrine 100mg tablets Please could you confirm, for each medicine individually: 1. Formulary status – is the medicine included on the Trust's formulary, and if so, under what indication(s) or restrictions (e.g. specialist initiation only)? If not on formulary, please confirm this and how such requests are normally managed (e.g. individual funding request, non-formulary approval process). 2. Volume used – the total quantity used or dispensed over the 12-month period, in tablets/capsules or packs (whichever is more readily available from your records). Please specify which unit you are reporting in. 3. Source of supply – whether each medicine is procured as an unlicensed "special," and if so, the name of the wholesaler, importer, or specials manufacturer used, or whether it is sourced via a standard NHS pharmaceutical wholesaler. 4. Total expenditure – the total amount spent by the Trust on each medicine over the same 12-month period. If it would be easier for you to provide this information in the form of a spreadsheet or extract from your pharmacy stock control/procurement system, this would be very welcome and would satisfy this request. I would be grateful if you could confirm receipt of this request. I understand you are required to respond within 20 working days as set out in the Act. If any part of this request is unclear, or if you believe it would be more efficiently answered by another department, please do contact me so this can be clarified without delay. If any of the information requested is already published (for example, via a medicines formulary website or previous FOI disclosure log), a link to this would be sufficient. Thank you for your time in dealing with this request. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you require any further clarification. Yours faithfully,

FOI Response

Freedom of Information Request – Ref: FOI 261-2026

Thank you for your recent Freedom of Information request. Please find our response below.

You asked:

For the most recent complete 12-month period, for each of the following three medicines:

1. Sodium Benzoate tablets/capsules 500mg
2. Carglumic Acid 100mg powder for oral suspension
3. Mepacrine 100mg tablets

1. Formulary status – is the medicine included on the Trust’s formulary, and if so, under what indication(s) or restrictions (e.g. specialist initiation only)? If not on formulary, please confirm this and how such requests are normally managed (e.g. individual funding request, non-formulary approval process).

2. Volume used – the total quantity used or dispensed over the 12-month period, in tablets/capsules or packs (whichever is more readily available from your records). Please specify which unit you are reporting in.

3. Source of supply – whether each medicine is procured as an unlicensed “special,” and if so, the name of the wholesaler, importer, or specials manufacturer used, or whether it is sourced via a standard NHS pharmaceutical wholesaler.

4. Total expenditure – the total amount spent by the Trust on each medicine over the same 12-month period.

Our response:

Gloucestershire Health and Care NHS Foundation Trust does not prescribe or supply these medicines and therefore does not hold the requested information. Accordingly, the Trust is unable to provide information in response to questions 1–4. You may wish to redirect your request to Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust at ghn-tr.foi@nhs.net.

Next steps:

Should you have any queries in relation to our response, please do not hesitate to contact us. If you are unhappy with the response you have received in relation to your request and wish to ask us to review our response, you should write to:

Louise Moss
Head of Legal Services / Associate Director of Corporate Governance
c/o Gloucestershire Health and Care NHS Foundation Trust
Edward Jenner Court
1010 Pioneer Avenue
Gloucester Business Park
Brockworth, GL3 4AW
E-mail: louise.moss@ghc.nhs.uk

If you are not content with the outcome of any review, you may apply directly to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) for further advice/guidance. Generally, the ICO will not consider your case unless you have exhausted your enquiries with the Trust which should include considering the use of the Trust’s formal complaints procedure. The ICO can be contacted at: The Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 5AF.