By July 2015 it will be possible in all the European Union (EU) to purchase medicinal products online through the websites of the persons (natural or legal ones) already authorised or entitled to supply medicinal products to the public.
Without prejudice to national legislations prohibiting the offer for sale at a distance of prescription medicinal products to the public, each Member State (MS) has to regulate the online sale of medicinal products not subject to medical prescription to the following conditions:
- the natural or legal persons offering medicinal products online through their own website must have an authorization or be entitled to supply medicinal products also at a distance to the public in accordance with national legislation of the MS in which they are established
- the data of natural or legal persons offering medicinal products to the public at a distance must be public: name or corporate name, address of the place of activity, starting date of the activity, address of the website used for selling medicinal products and the classification of medicinal products offered for sale
- the person has to comply with the current legislation of the MS of destination of the medicinal products
The directive 2011/62/EU, whilst allowing each MS to impose additional conditions for public health protection, provides indications on the minimal contents that the persons’ websites must have:
- the contact details of the competent authority that issued the authorization to supply medicinal products to the public and to which the person notified the starting date of the online sale activity
- the hyperlink to the website of the competent authority of the MS where the person is established. Such website shall provide all the information on the national legislation in force, a description of the legislative differences between the MMSS, the list of the persons authorized in offering medicinal products for sale at a distance to the public and their website addresses, background information on the risks related to medicinal products illegally supplied online to the public
- the common logo
How does the common logo look like?
The European Commission implementing regulation no. 699/2014 provides the common logo technical standards and model [1] for its proper use.
Only the logos that exactly match the requirements established by the regulation will be deemed as authentic.
What is the purpose of the logo?
The logo’s purpose is to allow the consumers, that are interested in safely purchasing online medicinal products, to distinguish between legal and illegal websites. The logo must be clearly displayed on all the webpages of the authorized websites and allow the consumers to immediately identify the MS where the person is established.
The presence of the logo on a website offering medicinal products to the public at a distance guarantees that the person offering medicinal products for sale at a distance is properly authorized to sell medicinal products in the MS of establishment and, as a consequence, that the medicinal products sold online are safe.
How does the logo work?
The logo links to the website of the national competent authority of the MS of establishment and, in particular, to the detailed list of all the authorized persons offering medicinal products to the public at a distance. This list must be always updated, reporting the date of the latest updating.
For further information:
directive no. 2011/62/EU [2]
European Commission implementing regulation no. 699/2014 [3]