Healthcare trends with the PAGB
As PAGB Associate Members, we were pleased to receive their 2019 Annual Review titled: “Shaping the future. Together”. The PAGB is the UK consumer healthcare association and represents branded OTC medicines, self care medical devices, and food supplements. We would recommend this Annual Report to anyone interested in the UK OTC industry as it provided some useful insights…
The importance of self-care
A key section in the Annual Review we were intrigued to read concentrated on the importance of self-care. This has been a key topic for the industry as a whole, with pharmacy encouraged to be the first point of contact for patients with minor conditions and ease the pressure on GP workloads.
More and more of our own client projects highlight the importance of self-care, in-particular in our work with RB Health. We explored what self-care in pharmacy means in our blog about the new NHS England Community Pharmacist Consultation Service. So, whilst it was no surprise to see the PAGB dedicating an entire section to it, it was an interesting and supportive read.
Other trends
The market growth value of the OTC industry as a whole has increased by 5.0% (data by Nielsen) which is very positive. Categories we often work in such as pain relief, sore throat, gastrointestinal, and eye care have all increased in value. In the PAGB’s report there is an interesting comment about the decline in medicated skin care compared to the rise in beauty skin care. (Page4)
Changes in regulations including a new guideline for medical devices, food supplements regulations, and of course the impact of Brexit have all been covered in the Review.
You can read the full document here.
PAGB’s first centenary
In 1919 leaders of proprietary medicine manufacturers met for the first time to form the Association of the Manufacturers of British Proprietaries, which became the Proprietary Association of Great Britain (PAGB).
On 17th June 2019, exactly 100 years to the day of that meeting, the PAGB held a centenary celebration at the Science Museum in London. We were pleased to support – and of course join – their event by providing a 1900’s pharmacy themed photo booth, along with props & costumes, to provide a lasting record of the occasion for all!
Read more about that beautiful and enjoyable evening here.
In conclusion…
2019 was certainly an interesting and positive year for the OTC industry as a whole, for the PAGB, and for Verve. The regulatory changes make pharmacies an even more important place in the community, and we are doing our small part by creating campaigns that not only increase knowledge and recommendation of OTC products but highlight the importance of self-care and Pharmacy.
We were also delighted to support and cheer PAGB CEO John Smith at the OTC Marketing Awards in March 2020, where he was recognised for his outstanding contribution to the industry. (We also won an award for the fourth year in a row, but we don’t like to brag about it too much…)
A notable absence in the report is of course the Covid-19 outbreak which is having and will have a big impact on everything, OTC industry included. With the outbreak having started in the UK in the first months of 2020, we will be waiting for next year’s PAGB Annual Review to read more about this topic. Until then, they are providing valuable updates through their website.
In the meantime, we are commenting and posting on our LinkedIn page about latest news and pages to follow to keep up-to-date with Covid-19, pharmacy and all things Verve.