General Pharmaceutical Council
The General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) has called for social media companies and search engines to prioritise registered pharmacies in search results as part of efforts to tackle illegal online pharmacies.
The call came following a roundtable held in Parliament on 22 June 2026, chaired by Sadik Al Hassan, chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Pharmacy, to discuss joint action on fake online pharmacies.
During the roundtable discussion, the pharmacy regulator also said it wanted faster removal of illegal sites by internet companies and clearer warnings to internet users.
Healthcare bodies, government and patients’ representatives all joined the roundtable.
Speaking at the event, Kathie Cashell, chief executive of the GPhC, also called for action to be taken by payment providers to disrupt illegal businesses by blocking transactions; more coordinated enforcement across regulators, law enforcement and international partners; and sustained national public awareness campaigns.
Alison Cave, chief safety officer at the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), shared insights into the scale of illegal online medicine sales.
In addition, Rachel Power, chief executive of the Patients Association, discussed findings of research that found barriers to accessing care are the main driver of unregulated online medicine use.
Gisela Abbam, chair of the GPhC, said: “Today’s discussion marks an important step in strengthening collaboration across the system. By working together, we can make it much harder for illegal operators to reach patients and ensure people can access medicines safely and with confidence.”
Sadik Al Hassan said: “Fake online pharmacies are a very serious and complex public safety issue.
“Protecting patients from fake online pharmacies and unregulated and unsafe medicines will require coordinated action — from government and enforcement agencies, to tech platforms and payment providers. I look forward to working closely with the GPhC and all others involved on the next steps to tackle this issue.”
In May 2026, the MHRA said that — in collaboration with the UK Border Force — it had seized 2 million doses of illegal medicines, which was valued at £4.6m. The MHRA said that while more than half of the medicines seized during its operation were controlled drugs, the rest were classified as prescription-only medicines.
