The General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) last week (August 29) revealed that it has written to pharmacies following reports of “inappropriate marketing messages and advice” relating to weight loss medicines such as Mounjaro and Wegovy.
The regulator’s chief pharmacy officer Roz Gittins said it is “receiving growing concerns” about patients receiving “inappropriate marketing messages and advice from some pharmacies” regarding drugs used for weight management.
Read more: ‘Crystal clear’: ASA bans ‘indirect’ weight loss jab advertising
These concerns have grown “especially following the recent announcement of a price increase and reported shortages of Mounjaro”, she added.
In an email sent to pharmacy owners, pharmacists and pharmacy technicians across the UK, the GPhC said it is working “closely” with the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) on the matter.
Read more: Lilly implements Mounjaro ‘order freeze’ for UK wholesalers
It set out that concerns raised about inappropriate pharmacy marketing include:
- Emails, websites and social media posts that “encouraged” patients to request a switch “from Mounjaro to Wegovy or another weight management medicine”
- Advice about switching to Wegovy or other Mounjaro alternatives “that is not in line with good practice guidance, local formularies or product licences”
- Patients being “incentivised” to “bulk-buy” or stock up on several months’ worth of medication, which fails to “align with the need for regular reviews and monitoring before further supplies are made”
The GPhC added that it has also received reports of customer complaints regarding “refund requests and other issues” not being responded to in a timely manner.
“Enforcement action”
GPhC inspectors “have already been following up with pharmacies”, chief enforcement officer Dionne Spence said, adding that they are “focusing on those that are receiving high volumes of complaints”.
“Not meeting our standards could result in enforcement action against owners, pharmacists (including superintendents) and pharmacy technicians,” she added, stressing that the ASA will also “not hesitate to take swift action”.
Read more: ASA ‘confident’ it can tackle online POM advertising
It is illegal to promote prescription-only medicines (POMs) to the public in the UK, making the advertisement or marketing of weight loss jabs like Mounjaro and Wegovy - which can only be obtained with a prescription - against the law.
The GPhC said that while some patients “may want to receive information about their options to switch to an alternative medicine”, only services or consultations related to weight loss medications may be promoted.
“Serious concerns”
ASA regulatory projects manager Jess Tye said the watchdog continues to “carry out extensive monitoring, investigation and enforcement work around pharmacy advertising for weight loss POMs”.
“This latest trend raises serious concerns about potential harmful and unlawful ads, and we are actively undertaking sweeps using our active ad monitoring system to identify and take action against any advertiser who breaks the rules,” Tye added.
Read more: Pharmacies must ‘immediately’ remove weight-loss ads, regulators warn
And MHRA executive director of healthcare quality and access Julian Beach stressed that the medicines regulator also takes “concerns about the promotion of medicines to the public seriously”.
“We are particularly concerned that the public may currently be being targeted with inappropriate information about weight loss treatments that may lead them to request a POM, which could include being based on price or supply,” he said.
The GPhC’s latest warning comes after the ASA published nine rulings in July against providers - including six pharmacies - as part of its “ongoing work to tackle illegal ads for weight loss POMs”.
Read more: Weight loss: GPhC online pharmacy crackdown has ‘full’ DH support
And earlier this year, the GPhC, MHRA and ASA joined forces to warn pharmacies not to advertise weight loss drugs via social media, adding that pharmacies can still break the rules without naming a POM.
Mounjaro manufacturer Eli Lilly announced last month that it will hike the UK list price for the weight loss jab by up to 170% from September 1 – causing chaos across the sector.
