electronic medicines compendium

What electronic medicines compendium does

Electronic Medicines Compendium (emc) is a UK medicines-information platform operated by Datapharm Limited, a private limited company registered in England and Wales (company number 11275607, headquartered in Leatherhead, Surrey). Founded in 1977 and active since the platform's launch in 1999, emc serves as the single UK online compendium of regulatory-approved medicine information, hosting over 14,000 documents — Summaries of Product Characteristics (SmPCs), Patient Information Leaflets (PILs), and Risk Minimisation Materials (RMMs) — covering more than 10,000 medicinal products and 1,700 active ingredients. All documents must be approved by the UK Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) or the European Medicines Agency (EMA) before publication, which is the platform's defining editorial and quality gate. The platform is freely accessible to healthcare professionals and patients (over 85 million annual visitors), and is reported as trusted by 97% of UK healthcare professional users.

The technical product is a web platform with browser-based retrieval, advanced filtering by active ingredient, company, legal category, and discontinuation status, plus integration with the UK's dm+d (Dictionary of Medicines and Devices) database for price and availability data. The product portfolio comprises the core emc compendium, emc med data (a dm+d access and supply-chain data product), emc publisher (a submission-side platform for pharmaceutical companies to fulfil their regulatory duty to publish reference safety information), and an accessibility/X-PIL sub-product delivered in partnership with the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) that converts PILs into Braille, large print and audio formats. Distribution is primarily direct via the web (medicines.org.uk), with ancillary integration into NHS and NHSBSA workflows.

Commercial revenue is generated almost entirely from a B2B subscription model: over 250 pharmaceutical companies — including Pfizer, Eli Lilly, AstraZeneca, GSK, Novartis, Bristol Myers Squibb, ViiV Healthcare, and Vertex — pay to publish their regulatory medicine information on the platform under multi-year publishing contracts. Pricing tiers and unit economics are not publicly disclosed. Healthcare professionals and patients view content for free, while non-UK commercial users require a subscription. The platform operates on a hybrid segmentation approach, serving pharmaceutical companies as paying B2B subscribers and healthcare professionals, patients, and the public as free information consumers — with network effects reinforcing both sides.

Name

electronic medicines compendium

Legal name

Datapharm Limited

Website

https://medicines.org.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1977

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Electronic Medicines Compendium (emc), operated by Datapharm Limited, is a UK medicines-information platform hosting 14,000+ MHRA/EMA-approved documents (SmPCs, PILs, RMMs) for 10,000+ products. Over 250 pharmaceutical companies subscribe to publish on the platform; UK healthcare professionals, patients, and the public access the content free of charge.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Pharmaceutical Regulatory Information Services

NAICS

Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services (54)

akta.pro primary industry

Regulatory Submissions & Clinical Content Management (eCTD/Publishing) (HLACAOAN)

akta.pro secondary industry

Medication Pricing, Copay Assistance & Patient Financial Support Tools (HLACAKAN)

Keywords

• Medicines information platform
• Pharmaceutical regulatory publishing
• UK drug information database
• Patient information leaflets
• SmPC document hosting

Headquarters

HQ city

Leatherhead

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Pharmaceutical Company Subscriptions: Over 250 pharmaceutical companies pay Datapharm to publish their medicines information on emc. Companies submit SmPCs, PILs, and risk materials which are approved by MHRA or EMA before publication. This is the primary revenue stream.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

emc is a web-based platform that hosts over 14,000 MHRA/EMA-approved regulatory documents (SmPCs, Patient Information Leaflets, and Risk Minimisation Materials) for medicines licensed in the UK. Pharmaceutical companies pay subscription fees to publish their approved medicines information, while healthcare professionals, patients, and the public access this information free of charge. Supporting sub-products include emc med data (dm+d pricing and availability lookup) and emc publisher (regulatory document submission platform).

Product overview

The electronic medicines compendium (emc) is a comprehensive UK medicines information platform operated by Datapharm Ltd. It provides over 14,000 regulated documents including Summaries of Product Characteristics (SmPCs), Patient Information Leaflets (PILs), Risk Minimisation Materials, and other product information for medicines licensed in the UK. The platform offers two main sub-products: emc med data for accessing dm+d database pricing and availability information, and emc publisher for pharmaceutical companies to submit regulatory documents. emc also supports accessibility through its ePIL/X-PIL initiative providing alternative formats for visually impaired users.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• emc med data: Platform that allows users a fast and effective way to check product price, availability, medicine information in the dm+d and supply chain databases.
• emc publisher
• emc accessibility

Products and services

• electronic medicines compendium (emc) A web-based UK medicines information platform providing up-to-date, regulator-approved Summaries of Product Characteristics (SmPCs), Patient Information Leaflets (PILs), and Risk Minimisation Materials for medicines licensed in the UK. Content is approved by MHRA or EMA and accessible to healthcare professionals and patients free of charge.
• emc med data A platform that allows NHS and healthcare organisations to quickly check product price, availability, and medicine information from the dm+d (Dictionary of Medicines and Devices) and supply chain databases. Integration with the dm+d database enables users to verify product pricing and supply chain status in real time.
• emc publisher A submission platform that supports pharmaceutical companies in fulfilling their regulatory requirements to make their reference safety information (SmPCs, PILs, RMMs) publicly accessible. Used by over 250 pharmaceutical companies to publish approved medicines documentation on emc.
• Risk Minimisation Materials (RMMs) Directory Directory of Risk Minimisation Materials hosted on emc, including healthcare professional guides, patient brochures, alert cards, and prescriber checklists that are part of risk management plans to ensure safe and effective use of medicines.

Quantifiable outcome

• Trusted by 97% of UK healthcare professional users
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with RNIB to make Patient Information Leaflets (PILs) accessible for blind and partially sighted people. X-PILs can be viewed on emc and delivered in Braille, large print, and audio versions through RNIB services.
• NHScoreStrategic or Co-development Partneremc works with NHS and other healthcare organisations to provide good information about medicines. NHS healthcare professionals are the primary users of the platform.
• NHS Business Services AuthoritycoreTechnology or IntegrationNHSBSA Prescription Services receives dm+d information from Datapharm. The emc med data platform provides access to the dm+d database for checking product price, availability, and supply chain information.
• Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMHRA approves all medicines information published on emc. The platform facilitates adverse event reporting through the Yellow Card scheme, which MHRA operates to monitor medicine safety.
• European Medicines Agency (EMA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEMA provides regulatory approval for medicines information published on emc, alongside MHRA, ensuring European-wide regulatory compliance for UK medicines documentation.
• Pharmaceutical Companies (Over 250 subscribers)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorOver 250 pharmaceutical companies subscribe to publish their medicines information on emc. Companies include Pfizer, Eli Lilly, AstraZeneca, GlaxoSmithKline, Novartis, Bristol Myers Squibb, ViiV Healthcare, and Vertex among others.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Drugs.com: Drugs.com aggregates FDA-approved drug labels, consumer Patient Information Leaflets, and AHFS/DailyMed content for a global consumer and HCP audience. It competes with emc for patient and professional medicines information consumption in markets where English-language authoritative drug data is sought.
• First Databank (FDB): First Databank provides structured drug knowledge (pricing, availability, interactions, clinical decision support) and is a direct competitor to emc med data. FDB's MEDS, NDDF, and Zynx datasets feed into EHRs, hospital systems, and NHS infrastructure, overlapping with emc's dm+d-based pricing/availability offering.
• DailyMed (National Library of Medicine): Operated by the U.S. National Library of Medicine, DailyMed is the closest international functional parallel to emc: a public-facing database of FDA-approved SmPC-equivalent drug labels (Structured Product Labeling) submitted by manufacturers. It publishes 150,000+ structured, regulator-vetted documents indexed by active ingredient and is the de facto U.S. national medicines information resource, mirroring emc's UK role exactly.
• MIMS (Monthly Index of Medical Specialties): MIMS is the long-standing UK and Asia-Pacific medicines reference compendium used by GPs, pharmacists, and hospitals. It directly competes with emc in UK clinical decision support, offering drug monographs, interaction checks, and prescribing data marketed via subscription to HCPs in territories overlapping with emc.

Regional players

• Vidal (VIDAL Group): Vidal is the canonical France- and French-speaking-markets compendium of regulator-approved medicines information, used by French and Francophone-African prescribers. It operates as emc's functional analog for French ANSM-approved SmPC/PIL content and competes in overlapping pharmaceutical regulatory information publishing categories.
• German summary of product characteristics portal (IEX / PSI): Germany's BfArM/PEI-anchored regulator drug information portal, operated via DIMDI successors, publishes structured product characteristics in a public framework analogous to emc's MHRA-aligned UK role. It is a regional peer serving the same functional purpose for German-marketed medicines.
• Rote Liste (Rote Liste Service GmbH): Rote Liste is Germany's authoritative medicines information compendium used by HCPs and published with backing from the German pharma industry. It covers Paul-Ehrlich-Institut and BfArM-approved drug information in a manner analogous to emc's MHRA/EMA role and is the most direct geographic peer in continental Europe.

Broad incumbents

• Medscape (WebMD / Medscape Drug Reference): Medscape Drug Reference provides free HCP-facing drug monographs, interaction checkers, and clinical decision tools to a global medical audience. While broader than emc and not regulator-mandated, it serves overlapping HCP and consumer information needs for medicines safety and prescribing references.
• Elsevier (ClinicalKey / Gold Standard): Elsevier's ClinicalKey and historical Gold Standard Drug Database provide drug monographs and medicines information alongside a broader medical reference ecosystem used by HCPs in the UK and worldwide. It overlaps with emc on accessibility to verified drug data while serving an adjacent (not regulator-publishing) niche.
• Wolters Kluwer (Lexicomp / Medi-Span): Wolters Kluwer operates Lexicomp, Medi-Span, and several other clinical drug information reference platforms serving hospitals and HCPs globally. It overlaps with emc in drug monograph, interaction, and pricing data, but as part of a much broader healthcare compliance and clinical decision support portfolio rather than a regulator-publishing specialist.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about electronic medicines compendium