The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), working alongside the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) and the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC), has issued a significant warning to businesses promoting prescription-only medicines (POMs) and unlicensed medicines for weight management. The warning follows increasing concern that clinics and online providers are using marketing which breaches UK medicines advertising law.  

For aesthetic clinics, pharmacies and healthcare providers, this is another clear indication that regulators are taking a far more proactive approach to weight management advertising. Businesses should review their websites, social media accounts and marketing materials immediately.

Why Has the MHRA Issued This Warning?

Demand for GLP-1 weight management medicines continues to grow rapidly.

As new products enter the UK market and additional medicines remain in development, regulators have identified businesses attempting to build consumer demand through advertising campaigns before products are available or by indirectly encouraging members of the public to request prescription-only medicines.  

The joint statement reminds businesses that medicines are not ordinary consumer products and that strict advertising restrictions exist to protect patient safety.

What Does the Law Say?

Under the Human Medicines Regulations 2012:

• Prescription-only medicines must not be advertised to members of the public.
• Unlicensed medicines cannot be promoted.
• Marketing must not encourage patients to request a prescription medicine from a prescriber.
• Businesses must not create consumer demand for medicines before they have received UK marketing authorisation.  

These restrictions apply regardless of whether the advertising appears on:

• Clinic websites
• Instagram
• Facebook
• TikTok
• Google advertisements
• Email marketing
• Online booking platforms

The Advertising That May Now Create Problems

The regulators specifically warned against marketing that refers to newly licensed oral GLP-1 medicines or pipeline medicines using wording designed to generate public interest.

Examples may include:

• “The new weight-loss tablet”
• “Oral GLP-1 treatments”
• “Join our waiting list”
• “Register your interest now”
• “Coming soon”
• “Reserve your treatment”

Even where a medicine is not named, advertising that is likely to encourage a member of the public to seek a prescription-only medicine may breach both the Human Medicines Regulations and the CAP Code.  

Waiting Lists Are Not Automatically Safe

One of the more notable aspects of the regulators’ warning concerns waiting lists.

Some businesses have attempted to market future access to medicines that have not yet become available.

The regulators have made clear that creating consumer demand for medicines that are still unlicensed—or even newly licensed prescription-only medicines—is unlikely to comply with UK advertising rules.  

This Forms Part of a Wider Regulatory Crackdown

This latest warning is not an isolated development.

Over the past two years the MHRA, ASA and GPhC have increasingly focused on:

• Online weight loss advertising
• Social media promotion
• Influencer marketing
• Indirect references to prescription medicines
• Illegal advertising by online pharmacies
• Website compliance reviews

The MHRA has already secured changes to the advertising of a number of providers offering weight-loss services following regulatory intervention.  

For clinics, this demonstrates that enforcement activity is becoming increasingly targeted rather than reactive.

What Should Clinics Do Now?

Every clinic offering medical weight management services should review its marketing strategy.

Particular attention should be paid to:

• Website wording
• Meta descriptions
• Google adverts
• Social media posts
• Blogs
• Before-and-after imagery
• Booking pages
• Email campaigns
• Waiting list promotions

Marketing should focus on regulated clinical services rather than encouraging demand for specific prescription medicines.

A compliance review now is significantly less costly than dealing with regulatory enforcement action later.

Potential Consequences of Non-Compliance

Businesses that fail to comply may face:

• MHRA enforcement action
• ASA investigations
• GPhC regulatory action (where applicable)
• Requirements to amend or remove advertising
• Reputational damage
• Increased regulatory scrutiny of wider clinic operations.  

How JMW Can Help

At JMW, we advise aesthetic clinics, pharmacies and healthcare providers on the legal and regulatory framework governing weight management services.

Our team can assist with:

• Advertising compliance audits
• Website and social media reviews
• MHRA investigations
• Responses to regulatory correspondence
• Governance and compliance programmes
• Ongoing regulatory advice for aesthetic practices

With regulatory scrutiny continuing to increase across the aesthetics sector, ensuring that marketing complies with the Human Medicines Regulations and advertising codes has never been more important.