Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has had discussions with internet service providers and with national and international partners on steps taken to prevent unlicensed medicines from entering the UK.

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), acting on behalf of my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, is responsible for the regulation of all medicines and medical devices in the United Kingdom, by ensuring they work and are acceptably safe. This includes applying the legal controls on the retail sale, supply, and advertising of medicines, which are set out in the Human Medicines Regulations 2012. These regulations apply equally to medicines advertised, sold, or supplied through the internet.

Public safety is the number one priority for the MHRA, and its Criminal Enforcement Unit works hard to prevent, detect, and investigate illegal activity involving medicines and medical devices.

The MHRA works closely with e-commerce and the internet industry to identify, remove, and block online content promoting the illegal sale of medicines and medical devices. It also seeks to identify and, where appropriate, prosecute online sellers responsible for putting public health at risk. Working with national and international partners, the MHRA successfully seizes millions of doses of illegally traded medicines each year.

The MHRA’s #FakeMeds campaign provides advice to people in the UK who are considering buying medication online, outlining how products can be accessed from safe and legitimate sources. It also encourages people to report suspicious medicinal products and adverse side effects via its Yellow Card scheme, which is available at the following link:

https://yellowcard.mhra.gov.uk/