Below is a joint statement from the Conditions and Categories Working Group, provided by PAGB, the consumer healthcare association, Community Pharmacy England (CPE), the Company Chemists Association (CCA), the National Pharmacy Association (NPA), and the Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS):
As representatives from community pharmacy and manufacturers of branded over-the-counter medicines (OTCs), the Conditions and Categories working group welcomes the announcement from the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) of new opportunities to reclassify medicines from prescription-only (POM) to OTC.
Each year, at least 25 million GP appointments and 5 million A&E visits are used for illnesses that are self-treatable with OTCs, costing the NHS £1.7 billion. By reducing NHS prescribing spend by 5% through increased reclassification, the health service could save approximately £1.4 billion per year.[i]
Recognising the benefits of reclassification, we have worked in collaboration with DHSC and the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), to identify these six therapeutic areas where there are immediate opportunities for companies to apply for reclassification of their medicines. The announcement is an important step towards empowering patients to access treatment and reduce pressure on our overstretched NHS.
We believe there is now scope for the Government to go further and undertake longer-term reform to unlock the full benefits of reclassification by:
- Exploring opportunities to widen the use of 25 OTC products over 5 years to expand access to self-care
- Re-evaluating the restrictive criteria for switching a POM to OTC to allow timely access to effective treatments
- Incentivising the OTC sector to reclassify their products in the UK to retain our position as a world-leader in reclassification of medicines
The Conditions and Categories Group stands ready to support the Government to develop these reforms.
Read DHSC’s announcement here.
References
[i] PAGB, 2023. The economic value of the over-the-counter sector. Available at: https://www.pagb.co.uk/latest-news/economic-value-2/
