United Kingdom

UK pharma also reaches agreement in principle, subject to DoJ approval, to pay $70m to resolve a whistleblower complaint filed by Valisure, the testing lab which in 2019 raised concerns about a potential link between the use of drugs containing ranitidine, a histamine-2 blocker, and cancer.

UK consumer healthcare industry association PAGB is calling on the UK government to explore the Rx-to-OTC switch of at least 25 OTC products over five years, and work with the country's medicines agency to re-evaluate the restrictive criteria for reclassification. 

To coincide with Stoptober – an annual campaign that encourages smokers in the UK to quit smoking for the month of October – Kenvue has launched a digital “branded entertainment” series for smoking cessation brand Nicorette that follows smokers on their quitting journeys.

Maxwellia is inviting 100 investors to contribute to the “development of new healthcare solutions that will benefit millions, while also playing a role in shaping the future of self-care.”

Food Standards Agency tells companies marketing caffeine supplements, “It is your responsibility to ensure food supplements you sell are safe for human consumption.”

Mucinex Sinus saline nasal spray is designed to treat sinus-related symptoms as “first-ever drug-free saline product” with a dual nozzle offering two spray settings, marketer Reckitt-Benckiser says.

This Thursday (26 October) the United Nations will discuss whether OTC antimicrobial products should be restricted to prescription-only status by UN member states. In advance of this, we catch up with UK association CEO Michelle Riddalls, to learn about the PAGB’s role in crafting the global consumer healthcare industry’s response.

Philip Morris described a scenario of being essentially blacklisted by the health care sector and its CDMO partners as it threw in the towel on its £1.1bn acquisition of UK inhalation specialist Vectura. It agreed to offload the firm at a fraction of the initial cost.

In this instalment of HBW Insight’s “Inside Regulatory Affairs” series, AdverCheck managing directors Lucy Rochford and James Walmsley describe how the consumer health industry is increasingly outsourcing its advertising copy review as it moves closer to the fast-moving consumer goods sector. They also point to a worrying trend in the UK of advertising prescription-only medicines online.

Commuters travelling through London's Waterloo train station this month witnessed Maxwellia's menstrual health brand Ultravana promoted via Disturbed Media Group's spectacular 3D hologram technology. 

Perrigo aims its new SolpaOne high-strength paracetamol effervescent at UK pharmacists, who now have expanded powers as part of the UK government's Pharmacy First initiative. 

Germany's Alzchem failed to convince the UK's health claims committee that daily creatine supplementation can contribute to improved cognitive function. 

A round-up of the latest moves in Europe's consumer health industry: Galenica names head of new Products & Home Care business unit; Haleon appoints general counsel; Alliance Pharma eliminates COO role.

Consumer health, particularly food supplements that make unauthorized medical or health claims, has been a key area of focus for the UK Advertising Standards Authority's recently introduced Active Ad Monitoring system, which captures ads by relevant advertisers from a range of social media platforms, and applies machine learning algorithms to identify and flag likely non-compliant ads, which are then sent to experts to review and act on. This infographic highlights recent ASA rulings against ads for supplements claiming to treat anxiety and stress, menopause, autism/ADHD and weight loss, which were flagged by AI.

Unauthorized medical or health claims for dietary supplements are a key focus area for the UK advertising regulator's new AI-powered Active Ad monitoring system. HBW Insight speaks to the ASA’s head of data science, Adam Davison, in this exclusive interview to find out more about the organization's journey towards pre-emptive regulation. 

Don't miss out on a chance to win an OTC Marketing Award. The entry deadline is fast approaching ahead of the presentation ceremony in London later this year.

Just under a third of UK parents who smoke or have smoked in the past believe there isn’t enough support to quit, and nearly a quarter don’t know where to go for support, Kenvue reports, based on recent surveys. In response, the firm launches the “Smokefree Families” initiative to help the 1.8m households in England with children and at least one smoker to become smoke free. 

A recently-published study funded by the UK National Institute for Health and Care Research finds that use of OTC nasal sprays reduces overall respiratory illness duration by about a fifth. Applied at a population level, self-care could therefore save billions in healthcare and human capital costs, as industry has pointed out elsewhere, as well as redirecting people away from antibiotic treatments that are still widely misprescribed, contributing to the fight against antimicrobial resistance. 

The UK's consumer healthcare industry association, PAGB, sets out six priorities for the new UK government, following the landslide victory of the Labour Party in the recent general election. One of these priorities is driving Rx-to-OTC switch - something that the UK public also wants, according to the association's latest Self-Care Census, published to mark International Self-Care Day 2024.

UK regulator the Food Standards Agency intends to assess the risks associated with consuming supplements containing ashwagandha and to determine whether a safe level of the herb can be established. The launch of the consultation follows warnings from regulators across Europe about the safety of ashwagandha, with its consumption linked to a number of adverse health effects.