The Medicines & Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has taken action against two pharmacies over ads for prescription-only weight loss drugs.
The regulator said last week that Oushk Pharmacy and Bolt Healthcare, trading as Bolt Pharmacy and Fella Health, had “amended their advertising following MHRA action on complaints” about the promotion of weight loss jabs to the public.
Read more: Pharmacies enlist campaign help amid weight loss ad warnings
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 MHRA said its decision “relates to specific advertising action taken on a particular date and is no endorsement of the ongoing practices” of the companies.
Read more: Inside the online pharmacy growing weight loss scripts by the thousands
It comes after C+D reported last year that Oushk Pharmacy had enlisted the help of a PR agency to “raise its national profile” and “build understanding of weight loss treatments”.
PR Agency One said at the time that the partnership had recently been renewed, with the introduction of “additional elements” to strengthen “compliance and governance across communications”.
Read more: Less than half of Brits know GLP-1s are prescription-only, ASA finds
And it follows C+D exclusively revealing in May that Oushk Pharmacy’s orders for weight loss jabs had grown from “20 a week” to tens of thousands per month.
While the company’s shareholder funds sat at £124,925 in September 2024, they had rocketed to £850,386 by March 2025 - an increase of almost 600% over just six months.
