The key event of 2001 was the ending of Retail Price Maintenance (RPM), which previously set fixed minimum prices on a wide range of Over the Counter / Consumer Healthcare (OTC) products. Chemists were wary of the prospect of a price war for General Sales Licence (GSL) products with the big grocery chains. RPM's demise had an impact on value growth of OTC as grocery multiples did exactly as chemists feared, reduced prices in key areas and on leading products.

The result was slower than historic value growth in 2002 at only 1.5%. This is low compared to a CAGR of 4.8% between 1997-2002. Some products such as allergy remedies felt the first impact from price reductions in 2002, having earlier avoided the full effect due to their short selling season which took place before RPM disappeared. Antihistamines/allergy remedies saw a decline of 7.7% in value, compared to growth in 2001 of over 17%. Smoking cessation was the strongest performer in OTC showing growth in value terms of 15.3%.

In 2002, the Medicines Control Agency (MCA) announced significant changes to the process for medicine reclassification, or switching. The new process is intended to encourage more manufacturers to apply for their medicines to be sold OTC and to decrease processing time for straightforward applications.

Pharmacy selling is currently in decline in terms of field force numbers as the numbers of independent retail pharmacies has declined. However, there is political pressure to increase the availability of OTC Medicines. In January 2003, deregulation of the NHS system for dispensing prescriptions was announced. This will allow any grocery outlet to dispense NHS medications under the supervision of a pharmacist, doing away with the previous contract system which limited the number of NHS dispensing locations to just over 12,000.

Field Sales Representatives call on independents and small chains / buying groups, whereas Head Office Based Key Account and National Account Managers will sell to Major Wholesalers and National Pharmacy Accounts.