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The MHRA has warned businesses not to promote the newly approved Wegovy pill to the public, saying it will crack down on any breaches of the medicines advertising code.

The medicines watchdog issued a joint statement last week with the General Pharmaceutical Council and Advertising Standards Authority in which the organisations said they have seen examples of businesses promoting oral weight loss products in the days since the once-daily Wegovy pill received MHRA approval on June 11.

The organisations reminded online pharmacies and other businesses that prescription medicines must not be promoted to the public, also warning them against advertising ‘pipeline’ weight loss drugs that have not yet been approved by UK regulators.

“We are jointly emphasising the importance of reviewing advertising as a matter of priority to ensure all advertisers in the sector work within the rules,” the MHRA said.

The ASA’s Jess Tye commented: “The weight-management sector is fast-moving, and we regularly see new approaches in advertising from businesses.

“We remain vigilant to these changes and will continue to act swiftly to take action where advertisers are not sticking to the rules.

“We expect advertisers to heed this warning to protect consumers and maintain a level playing field for businesses.”

Roz Gittins, chief pharmacy officer at the GPhC, said: “We will not hesitate to act where those that we register fail to meet our standards.

“This can include taking enforcement action against the pharmacy, the owner, the superintendent pharmacist, or individual registrants.

“We will continue to work collaboratively with other regulators to keep the public safe.”

Related: ASA bans three social media ads for promoting weight loss POMs