The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has upheld a complaint that a newspaper promoted a prescription-only medicine (POM) in one of its articles, it announced earlier this month (April 11).
The decision comes after The Scotsman published an online article on January 29 about Mounjaro for “treatment of type 2 diabetes or weight management”, it said.
A member of the public complained that the article was an “advertisement for a POM” and therefore breached regulations prohibiting “advertisements to the public that are likely to lead to use of a POM”, it added.
Read more: Pharmacies must ‘immediately’ remove weight-loss ads, regulators warn
The MHRA said it decided that the article “could be considered as an advertisement for a medicine because its content, together with direct references to a named POM and named references to UK sources of supply, encouraged use of the product”.
It told C+D that the content of the article was entirely made by The Scotsman’s owner National World Publishing Ltd with no involvement from third parties and that it therefore could not name the Mounjaro suppliers.
The medicines regulator upheld the complaint and National World Publishing Ltd confirmed it had “removed the article from all National World Plc platforms”.
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The publisher added that it would review its “editorial practices to ensure all future content about medicines aligns with MHRA guidance for journalists”, according to the regulator.
The MHRA highlighted the guidance, which outlines that information must be “factual and balanced and not…actively encourage readers to seek a particular prescription product from a healthcare provider” when reporting on medicines.
C+D contacted The Scotsman and National World Publishing Ltd for comment.
Weight loss warnings
It comes after the MHRA this month issued a joint enforcement notice along with the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) and General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) flagging concerns “about the advertising of POMs used for weight management, including on social media”.
In February, the medicines regulator chided Lloyds Pharmacy Online Doctor for its advertising around weight loss medicines, while another online pharmacy also landed in hot water for using “content creators” to promote the drugs.
Read more: ‘New front line’: MHRA removes 150 social media posts selling fake weight loss drugs
The MHRA exclusively revealed to C+D in December that it took down 150 social media posts “actively” selling counterfeit weight loss drugs in 2024.
And in November, it ordered a repeat offender online pharmacy to amend its advertising for medication “not licensed for weight loss” following a complaint.
