What are the channels to apply for a license to market medications in the UK?

1. What are the channels to apply for a license to market medications in the UK? With the advent of the Internet, everything can be bought online, from fresh vegetables to custom printed t-shirt to medicines. Undoubtedly, the internet has revolutionised the consumer market, offering consumers flexibility and more options to browse. The space problem experienced by the brick and mortar establishments has been eliminated and is replaced by the virtual space, where anything can be ordered at any time. However, the emergence of the online consumer market has become a source of a headache for regulation agencies, as many online distributors can easily evade the regulations and sell things illegally online. However, agencies are catching up fast, as a number of effective measures are put in place to make sales of articles online legal. We, in this article, explore the different application channels to obtain the license to be an online seller of medicines within the UK. The application results into a specific license number, which is a part of the different regulations and measures employed by the UK government to check the illegal distribution in the online pharmacy industry. For instance, if you want to serve a buyer who wants Viagra tablets to buy online, the seller must follow the application procedure. The first step involves contacting the Medicines and Health Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). Depending on the licence one needs, four procedures need to be followed: decentralised procedure, mutual recognition procedure, national procedure, and centralised procedure. For a pharmacy that wants to sell medicines in the UK, the seller must follow national procedure. In the national procedure, the first step includes getting a PL number, before one submits the application. The PL number is provided by MHRA on its portal. Alternatively, one can email to Area0-PLNumberAllocation@mhra.gov.uk. For first timers, a 5-digit company number is issued by the authority and for that one has to apply at Reference.Data@mhra.gov.uk. If a seller is applying for a national application, the licence must comply with the regulatory requirements. The application is the first hurdle, which typically takes up to 210 days. In this stage, the information provided is double-checked through many sources to validate the authenticity of the distributors. The period of 210 days does not include time taken to furnish further data or information required, which happens more often than not. As an alternative to this procedure,

2. fast track application is also available for marketing authorization. Under this procedure, applications of life-saving drugs are considered; for example, a seller, which wants to target consumers who want to buy Viagra tablets online, would not qualify. It is evident an online seller who lets you buy medicines online wades through many bureaucratic hurdles first to serve you. Whenever you shop the next time, always remember to check the MHRA number of the seller; by doing so you safeguard yourself from swindlers and fraudsters, which have inundated the Internet and the entire online consumer market. Summary: This article explores the different application channels to obtain license to be an online seller of medicines within the UK, with focus on the national procedure.