The UK’s consumer healthcare industry association, PAGB is publishing a series of blog posts for Self-Care Week – an annual awareness campaign in the UK organized by the Self Care Forum, held this year from 17-23 November. In this second part of a special episode of HBW Insight’s Over the Counter podcast, we catch up with the association’s CEO Michelle Riddalls, to talk about what the association is doing to promote digital health. As part of the UK government’s plans for reforming the country’s National Health Service, PAGB is asking for the widely used UK NHS app to not only advise people on how to self-care but also to take users to OTC brand websites that can help them to self-manage their conditions appropriately. We also discuss the advantage of having digital apps and self-care information generally linked to trusted umbrella brands.

Timestamps

2:00 – PAGB’s digital health strategy

6:00 – The NHS app and self-care brands

12:00 – Self-care apps

15:30 – The importance of brands

Guest Bio

Michelle Riddalls OBE is chief executive officer of PAGB, the consumer healthcare association, which represents the manufacturers of branded OTC medicines, self-care medical devices and food supplements in the UK.

Prior to joining PAGB, Riddalls was director of regulatory affairs for the Northern European Cluster at Pfizer Consumer Healthcare, where she was integral in the highly successful POM to GSL reclassification of Nexium Control and the Viagra Connect POM to P switch.

Michelle has been recognized across a number of industry awards, including the Women in Trade Powerlist in 2024, and was awarded an OBE for outstanding services to consumer health in the King’s 2025 New Year Honours.

In this week’s Digital Health Roundup, Medtech Insight’s Marion Webb highlights her interviews with leaders at brain-computer interface developers Synchron and INBRAIN about funding, clinical trials and partnerships. Brian Bossetta discusses Oura’s goal to secure US FDA clearance for a blood pressure feature for its smart ring. Elizabeth Orr highlights an FDA expert panel considering regulation of generative AI tools for mental health and Shubham Singh shines a light on Choice’s efforts to develop a new form of contraceptive for women.

The UK’s consumer healthcare industry association, PAGB is publishing a series of blog posts for Self-Care Week – an annual awareness campaign in the UK organized by the Self Care Forum, held this year from 17-23 November. In this special episode of HBW Insight’s Over the Counter podcast, we catch up with the association’s CEO Michelle Riddalls, to talk about what the association is doing to promote Rx-to-OTC switch in the UK. According to Riddalls, two-thirds of PAGB members see reclassification as a key pillar of growth in the next 10-15 years. The UK government has also announced it wants to see switch applications for 16 medical conditions and categories, including sleep, pain, allergy and women's intimate health. Through initiatives like the Reclassification Alliance, PAGB is working hard to unlock this significant growth opportunity for the UK consumer health industry, Riddalls explains.

Timestamps

3:00 – Introductions

4:00 – PAGB and Self-Care Week

5:30 – How PAGB is helping to enable Rx-to-OTC switch

8:00 – The benefits of switching for the consumer health industry

11:00 – Riddalls’ switch experience

15:00 – UK government’s switch agenda

18:00 – Switch barriers

22:00 – Thinking outside the box

Guest Bio

Michelle Riddalls OBE is chief executive officer of PAGB, the consumer healthcare association, which represents the manufacturers of branded OTC medicines, self-care medical devices and food supplements in the UK.

Prior to joining PAGB, Riddalls was director of regulatory affairs for the Northern European Cluster at Pfizer Consumer Healthcare, where she was integral in the highly successful POM to GSL reclassification of Nexium Control and the Viagra Connect POM to P switch.

Michelle has been recognized across a number of industry awards, including the Women in Trade Powerlist in 2024, and was awarded an OBE for outstanding services to consumer health in the King’s 2025 New Year Honours.

In this special In Vivo podcast episode, executive editor Lucie Ellis-Taitt is joined by an expert panel of Citeline journalists – Ashley Yeo, David Wild, Jessica Merrill and data journalist Edwin Elmhirst – to explore the trends set to reshape the biopharma and medtech sectors as we head into 2026.

After two of the toughest years in biotech history, are we finally seeing a turnaround? EY's Arda Ural discusses the long-awaited recovery in biotech IPOs, the evolving capital markets landscape and how tariffs and Trump RX are reshaping biopharma supply chains.

In this wide-ranging conversation, Ural unpacks the three key factors driving IPO recovery — Fed rate cuts, improving valuations, and reduced macro uncertainty — while sharing hard data on what's actually working in 2024. He explains why platforms without products are struggling to raise venture capital, how the bid-ask spread in M&A deals reflects ongoing valuation disagreements and why China's emergence as a competitor in novel drug development represents a fundamental shift for the industry.

Whether you're navigating early-stage financing, preparing for an IPO, or planning strategic transactions, this episode delivers actionable insights on capital markets, policy impacts and the fundamentals that will determine who succeeds in the next phase of biotech innovation.

Summer Colling and Emma Wille speak with Nkiru Ibeanu, Anna Simmons, and David Dahan from the oncology team about some of the most exciting data presented at the 2025 European Society For Medical Oncology conference.

本期播客内容来自《Scrip》杂志，精选内容涵盖截至2025年11月1日当周的生物制药行业的商业动态。本期节目采用人工智能文本转语音及语音仿真技术制作。

本次要闻: 辉瑞对Metsera的坚定收购计划；礼来公司肥胖症治疗领域的强劲势头；默克公司MFN协议谈判进展；诺华公司干燥综合征研究的积极成果；以及中国对美国创新领域施加的日益增大的压力。

Story links: https://insights.citeline.com/scrip/podcasts/scrips-five-must-know-things/quick-listen-scrips-five-must-know-things-2K33BM6BLBDU7JH7QMETUXUKPE/

Playlist: on.soundcloud.com/gnr7PaOwflNKiAO7QX

Audio roundup of selected biopharma industry content from Scrip over the business week ended November 1, 2025. In this episode: Pfizer’s unwavering pursuit of Metsera; Lilly’s obesity momentum; Merck & Co.’s MFN negotiations; Novartis’s promising Sjögren’s results; and the rising Chinese pressure on US innovation.

Story links: https://insights.citeline.com/scrip/podcasts/scrips-five-must-know-things/quick-listen-scrips-five-must-know-things-2K33BM6BLBDU7JH7QMETUXUKPE/

This episode was produced with the help of AI text-to-voice and voice emulation tools.

Playlist: soundcloud.com/citelinesounds/sets/scrips-five-must-know-things

Pink Sheet Executive Editor Derrick Gingery, Senior Writer Sarah Karlin-Smith, Senior Editor Sue Sutter and Editor-in-Chief Nielsen Hobbs take a deep dive into the circumstances of George Tidmarsh’s departure as director of the US Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (:30). They also consider the long-term impact on the agency (11:50) and try to place it in context compared to other crises in its history (31:24).

More On These Topics From The Pink Sheet

Breaking: George Tidmarsh Out As US FDA Drug Center Director: https://insights.citeline.com/pink-sheet/agency-leadership/us-fda/breaking-george-tidmarsh-out-as-us-fda-drug-center-director-MI2NEWEM6ZFP7GP66ZQJL76N2Q/

Former US FDA CDER Director Says He Played Key Role In Stealth’s Elamipretide Approval: https://insights.citeline.com/pink-sheet/product-reviews/drug-review-profiles/us-fda-cder-director-says-he-played-key-role-in-stealths-elamipretide-approval-VAEUL5PU75GBXCMC3QOYTA32WI/

Tidmarsh Creates More Instability And Uncertainty For US FDA, Industry: https://insights.citeline.com/pink-sheet/agency-leadership/us-fda/tidmarsh-creates-more-instability-and-uncertainty-for-us-fda-industry-DODHAMVW5REBPPHBUUJHV6PZTU/

US FDA’s Richard Pazdur Says ‘No’ To CDER Director’s Spot: https://insights.citeline.com/pink-sheet/agency-leadership/us-fda/breaking-us-fdas-richard-pazdur-offered-cder-director-spot-said-no-RZK4BW7EX5F5RLG6HG2JSDCKAE/

FDA Office of New Drugs Director Mary Thanh Hai Not Interested In CDER Director Job: https://insights.citeline.com/pink-sheet/agency-leadership/us-fda/fda-office-of-new-drugs-director-mary-thanh-hai-not-interested-in-cder-director-job-XKOFXETTWVAXFB22BQ3MJ7ONQ4/

Join Sarah Anderson, Therapeutic Strategy Director, Oncology at Novotech, and Izabela Chmielewska from Citeline as they explore how next-generation immuno-oncology strategies are reshaping cancer research. From emerging modalities to smarter trial design and evolving regulatory expectations, discover what’s driving the next wave of innovation in oncology.