July 2019: Promotion of sildenafil by Cornerstone Brands Ltd
Published 30 August 2019
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A member of the public complained about promotional material presented on the Cornerstone website. The complainant alleged that that the sale of the medicinal product was for an unreasonably low sum.
Regulation 293 of the Human Medicines Regulations prohibits the sale or supply of samples of medicinal products to any member of the public by a marketing authorisation holder or any third parties. Offers to potential consumers to enable them to obtain the pack for free or for an unreasonably low sum so as to be almost free is considered to fall within this prohibition.
MHRA upheld the complaint regarding the promotional offer of sildenafil on the Cornerstone website. Cornerstone Brands Ltd confirmed that they had removed the promotional offer in question so as to comply with Regulation 293 going forward. The company also agreed to remove from their website references to medicines listed as “MHRA approved” and to not make any such references to the MHRA in future on either their website or marketing materials.