March 16th 2026

By Ailsa Colquhoun

OTC industry looks to weight management injection reclassifications

Injectable weight management medicines and EpiPens are among the targets for reclassification, OTC medicine supplier representatives have said.

A pan-industry group chaired by the MHRA, the Reclassification Alliance, is calling for the Government to widen the use of 25 OTC products over the next five years. 

Group member the Proprietary Association of Great Britain (PAGB) believes that updated legal requirements regarding reclassification could open the door to innovation and improve access to support for these conditions.

In a blog, PAGB CEO Michelle Riddalls said a five per cent reduction in prescribing, supported by reclassifications to OTC status, could save £1.4 billion each year. She said: “Bringing this into the conversation adds a fresh dimension to the reclassification debate and stresses the wider potential for regulatory reform to improve health outcomes in meaningful, practical ways.”

In a PAGB poll, 80 per cent of companies said consumer demand was their key driver for reclassification.