Get ready for Digital

PAGB is breaking new ground with its digital strategic work programme. Over the past two years, PAGB and its members have undertaken a major piece of work to understand and establish positions across

• eCommerce
• Real-World Evidence/ Real-World Data
• Advertising and social media
• Apps and medical devices
• Digital self care

We gathered insights from leading platforms such as Amazon and Google, and the expertise of members and associate members who are pushing the boundaries of digital for consumer healthcare brands.

We used this to develop important new guidance for members, the first of its kind, to support you in navigating the advertising and regulatory requirements that apply to consumer healthcare. We’ve shared our positions and guidance with the MHRA, securing alignment with industry ambitions and recognition for the progressive nature of PAGB’s work in this area.

New digital guidance

PAGB has published NEW advertising and regulatory guidance on digital topics to support you in developing your own digital strategies. This guidance is the first of its kind for the consumer healthcare industry. (click images to go to guidance)

PAGB teams, members, associate members and external contributors on our digital sub-groups worked together over almost two years to develop positions and guidance. Their detailed review of regulatory requirements across different platforms and marketplaces have resulted in guidance that explains (for example) responsibility and control in eCommerce; cross-border constraints; when an app is a medical device and what the implications of this are for your software apps; opportunities for using Real-World Evidence and Real-World Data across the product lifecycle; and much more.

Members are encouraged use the new guidance and seek advice from PAGB’s regulatory and advertising teams to support your digital strategies.

Digital Week conference

We shared what we’ve learnt and developed through the digital work programme, along with insights and case studies from PAGB members and special guests, in a week-long virtual conference at the start of July.

Google Healthcare gave an opening Keynote presentation, on how digital is shaping the future of healthcare. Throughout the week delegates heard from PAGB experts, regulators, and health tech companies such as Healthily and Healthy.io who are driving innovation in technology that supports self care.

Member companies presented case studies of software apps and talked about how to apply Real-World evidence across the OTC lifecycle. We also heard from associate members on maximising eCommerce opportunities and how to engage with consumers via social media.

Learn more about the five digital themes and the relevance for your business.

Get an overview of the event and view the full Digital Week programme and session descriptions to find out more about the topics covered and our guest speakers.

We received positive feedback from attendees:

Post-session poll on a scale of Excellent, Good, Satisfactory, Poor, Not Applicable, across all sessions.

Catch up on the week’s events

Event delegates can access Digital Week content on-demand until 20 August via the Digital Week platform, https://pagbdigitalweek.com/

If you weren’t able to attend, or are looking for a quick reminder of what was covered in Digital Week, read the daily summaries published by our event media partner, HBW Insight

• Day 1: Google On COVID Trends, How To Capitalize On The E-Commerce Boom
• Day 2: Real-World Evidence And Its Potential In Consumer Healthcare
• Day 3: Engaging With Consumers Online And Mastering Social Media
• Day 4: Harnessing The Potential Of Apps For Self-Care
• Day 5: Challenges And Opportunities For Digital Self-Care

For more information about Digital Week contact events@pagb.co.uk

What’s next?

Our digital work continues. We will be introducing a new workstream on patient information to look at the potential for electronic patient information for self care products. Together with members on our digital sub-groups, we will ensure we keep our guidance up to date with new and emerging trends. We will also be working on additional guidance in both the Real World Evidence and Apps/Medical Device space, as well as reviewing how to use the output of the digital workstreams so far to make the case for regulation and policy change.

If you’re interested in getting involved with any of our working groups, please contact regulatory@pagb.co.uk for more information or an informal discussion.