Pharmacist Alexander Philip Clarke, registration number 2057216, was warned by the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) after he obtained a number of prescription-only medicines from a Chinese website “outside of the UK regulatory framework”.
At hearings held between January 5 and 8, the GPhC’s fitness-to-practise (FtP) committee heard that Clarke had purchased “one or more” orders of semaglutide, nitrofurantoin, amoxicillin, baclofen and tianeptine between June and October 2023.
According to the hearing document, he also “consumed a quantity” of tianeptine, a prescription-only medicine that is not licensed or approved for use in the UK.
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The regulator acknowledged that the pharmacist has “expressed regret for what occurred” and “unequivocally accepted responsibility for what he did”.
But it pointed out that he made “repeated” purchases of the medicines and that “a risk of harm arose from the conduct”.
Investigation
The committee heard that Clarke was working as a commercial product operations manager at Sciensus when the misconduct took place, and that the role “did not require him to practise as a pharmacist, but relied on his knowledge” as one.
The GPhC said it began its investigation into Clarke in October 2023, after it “came to light” that he “had purchased various drugs from a vendor in China without obtaining legal prescriptions” and the concern was reported to the regulator.
Clarke admitted to purchasing the medicines both in his response to the regulator in July 2024 and “formally” at the hearing, it added.
Low risk of repetition
The committee said that Clarke’s conduct was “in principle remediable” and recognised that his acceptance of the proven allegations “demonstrated a degree of insight into his failings”.
“There have been no further concerns raised in relation to his registration since the events of 2023,” it added.
It also found that there is “a low risk” that Clarke will repeat this behaviour in the future.
“Reckless”
But the GPhC stressed that Clarke “had many years of experience” and “should have known better” - and that his conduct “would have been considered deplorable by fellow professionals”.
The regulator noted that there is “no evidence” that he “sought any medical advice in relation to his use of a product which is unlicensed in this country”.
And it said Clarke’s behaviour was “reckless” and that he “had ignored the basic expectations of his profession” and “put himself at risk of harm”.
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The committee concluded that a warning “would serve to underscore the seriousness” of Clarke’s conduct and demonstrate that “the obtaining and consumption of imported prescription-only medicine is unacceptable”.
It said it is “reassured” that Clarke has “implemented changes to [his] practice in order to avoid similar conduct” in the future.
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The warning will be published in the register and remain there for 12 months, it added.
Read the determination in full here.
