Matej Mikulic
Research expert covering health, pharma & medtech
OTC medicines in the United Kingdom (UK) - Statistics & Facts
The market for over-the-counter (OTC) medicines in the United Kingdom has shown a steadily increasing tendency over the past two decades. Sales value of the OTC market was at around 1.7 billion British pounds at the beginning of the new millennium and saw its peak at just over four billion pounds in 2024. The only significant decrease was reported between 2019 and the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, 2020, when the market dropped by more than 100 million pounds in sales value. Pain relief medicines are the leading category on the UK’s OTC market, responsible for around one fifth of total OTC sales.
