Doctors and medical experts have welcomed moves to encourage the development of medicines designed specifically for children.

Launching the initiative on Tuesday, health minister Lord Warner said there had been a lack of emphasis on medicines for younger people.

At present most drugs are designed for and tested on adults, even though they are widely prescribed for children.

The Department of Health said evidence indicated that children and adults respond very differently to medicines and that some treatments which are effective in adults may not be as suitable for children.

To tackle the problem, ministers aim to encourage manufacturers of medicines to research and develop medicines geared to the needs of children.

GPs and other prescribers will also be given better information about the impact of medicines on children.

Lord Warner said the UK had "led the way" in pushing for improvements.

"I want the new strategy that I have announced today to give a strong message to pharmaceutical companies to focus on the needs of children when developing new medicines," he said.

Professor Rosalind Smyth, who heads the Committee on Safety of Medicines paediatric working group, said the plans could "make a real difference for children, parents and prescribers".

"Children have the right to the same standards for medicines as adults and this strategy is another step towards achieving this," she said.

And the Royal College of GPs also backed the proposals. "Doctors and parents alike will welcome these new guidelines," said Professor David Haslam, RCGP child health spokesman.

"It should be noted that the great majority of drugs prescribed for children by GPs do not pose a problem but increased consideration of child dosages by drug companies will certainly be helpful when dealing with rarer and more complex medicines."