Key Summary
- MHRA chief safety officer Dr Alison Cave shared insights into the scale of illegal online medicine sales and their action against criminal networks.
- Patients Association chief executive Rachel Power said that barriers to accessing care is the primary driver of unregulated online medicine use.
- Dr Stephen Pike from the Royal College of General Practitioners said that buying unregulated medicines from fake online pharmacies was posing a significant risk to patients.
All-Party Parliamentary Group on Pharmacy chair, Sadik Al Hassan, has called for a coordinated effort to protect patients from fake online pharmacies and unsafe medicines.
While chairing a roundtable convened by the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) in Parliament on Monday (22), he said that fake online pharmacies pose a very serious and complex public safety issue.
“This roundtable has brought together key players from across the system to begin building a shared understanding of the problem and, crucially, to identify where we must act together. Protecting patients from fake online pharmacies and unregulated and unsafe medicines will require coordinated action - from government and enforcement agencies, to tech platforms and payment providers. I look forward to working closely with the GPhC and all others involved on the next steps to tackle this issue.”
The roundtable participants included Parliamentarians, regulators, healthcare organisations and patient representatives.
GPhC chief executive Kathie Cashell listed the actions the regulatory body would like to see taken across the system.
She wanted search engines and social media companies to prioritise registered pharmacies in search results, faster removal of illegal sites and posts, and clearer warnings to users.
Cashell also called upon payment providers to block transactions of illegal businesses and wanted regulators, law enforcement, and international partners to work in tandem.
GPhC chair Gisela Abbam said, “Patient safety must come first. Today’s discussion marks an important step in strengthening collaboration across the system.
"By working together, we can make it much harder for illegal operators to reach patients and ensure people can access medicines safely and with confidence.”
Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) chief safety officer Dr Alison Cave shared insights into the scale of illegal online medicine sales and their ongoing enforcement activity against criminal networks.
Patients Association chief executive Rachel Power shared the key findings of research that found barriers to accessing care are the primary driver of unregulated online medicine use, and called for public awareness campaigns to highlight the risks of buying medicines from unregulated online sources.
Dr Stephen Pike from the Royal College of General Practitioners said that buying unregulated medicines from fake online pharmacies was posing a significant risk to patients.
The GPhC will publish a report summarising the discussions, which will be shared with participants, parliamentarians, and key organisations. They will work closely with Sadik Al-Hassan and the APPG on Pharmacy on future steps.
