Websites offering medicinal treatment services – December 2021
Published 21 January 2022
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The following companies have amended their advertising following MHRA action on complaints to ensure that unlicensed or prescription only medicines (including advertising a medicine to treat conditions for which it is not licensed) are not promoted to the public, and/or that factual statements about medicines are not misleading:
- Careforsons Limited (trading as Sons)
- Certified Health Limited (trading as Unthin)
- Hims UK Limited (formerly trading as Freshman)
- Hannah Lloyd Collis Aesthetics
- Menwell Limited (trading as Manual)
- MMJ Clinic Group Limited (trading as MyAccess Clinics)
- Skin + Me Limited
- The Family Pharma Limited (trading as Dense Hair Club)
- Vir Health Limited (trading as Numan)
The list relates to specific advertising action taken on a particular date and is no endorsement of the ongoing practices of the website.
Further MHRA advice for providers offering services that prescribe unlicensed medicines
Following a series of complaints in 2020 and 2021 concerning advertisements by some of the above clinics referring to unlicensed treatment options for hair loss and skin care that were proactively distributed on social media, MHRA is issuing further advice to service providers to help ensure advertisements conform with Part 14 of the Human Medicines Regulations 2012.
To avoid an advertisement falling foul of regulation 279 of the Regulations, which prohibits the advertising of medicines that do not have a valid UK marketing authorisation or registration, the advertiser should follow these general principles:
- No efficacy claims or other product claims may be made for an unlicensed medicine, since the product would not have been formally assessed by an appropriate regulatory body.
- Treatments that involve the use of unlicensed medicines may not be described as ‘clinically proven’ or similar, for the same reason.
- Depictions of bottles or containers that clearly identify the contents as a medicine or that make medicinal claims are not permitted as this is likely to be regarded as advertising for an unlicensed medicinal product. We would not object to generic depictions of bottles or containers that may refer to a possible range of products such as medicines, cosmetics or food supplements.
- An advertisement must not refer to ingredient(s) that are classified as prescription-only medicines either by name or by that legal category. References to the legal category of ‘prescription’ product(s)/ingredient(s) or similar are likely to identify the product as medicinal by presentation and be seen as an advert for a medicinal product.
By way of a reminder, compliance with the legislation is best achieved by focussing on the service provision offered by the website as outlined in our guidance for treatment service providers, and on the professional consultation that will take place with the patient.
You can see details of MHRA guidance for providers that offer medicinal treatment services in Appendix 6 of the MHRA Blue Guide.