2022 at a glance

Foreword

Our Mission

Meet AESGP

Self-Care Products

Self-Care Products

Self-care products include several categories of products available without prescription:

  • Medicines (e.g. painkillers, antihistamines)
  • Food Supplements (e.g. vitamins, minerals, probiotics)
  • Medical devices, (e.g. nasal washes, wart removal gels, lubricating eye drops)
  • 4.000+

    Medicinal Products

    Available without

    Prescription in Europe

    4.000+ Medicinal Products Available Without Prescription in Europe

    That’s over 200 different pharmaceutical ingredients (INN) and their combinations

    42+ billion

    of Self-Care Sales

    42+ Billion Packs of Self-Care Products Sold Globally

    In 2022, 8,5 billion packs of non-prescription products and 1,3 billion packs of minerals and vitamins were bought by Europeans (Source: IQVIA Consumer Health Data 2022)

    1,2 billion

    Self-Managed Minor

    Health Issues per Year

    1,2 billion Self-Managed Minor Health Issues per Year

    Ailments that are typically self-managed with self-care products include allergies, gastrointestinal disorders, cuts, bites and rashes, coughs and colds, or mild pain.

    34 billion €

    Saved for National

    Health Systems and

    Economies

    34 Billion € Saved for National Health Systems and Economies

    Self-care products save money that would otherwise be spent on unnecessary doctors’ appointments, prescription medication and missed work.

    More than

    2.000 Companies

    More than 2.000 Companies

    All active in the self-care/consumer healthcare sector in Europe, half of which are small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

    70+

    Meetings with

    EU Institutions

    70+ Meetings with EU Institutions

    Held between AESGP and European institutions and agencies. This includes meetings with the European Commission, the European Medicines Agency, and the European Food Safety Authority.

    80+

    Inter-Associations

    Meetings

    80+ Inter-Associations Meetings

    As part of Inter-Associations Initiatives, AESGP meets with other Industry Trade Associations to work on and discuss sector-specific topics such as pharmaceuticals in the environment, broader environmental sustainability, electronic product information, ingredients, implementation of medical devices, food regulations, and much more.

    30 +

    External

    Engagements

    30+ External Engagements

    On behalf of the self-care industry, AESGP participated in events organized by the European Parliament, national members, partners, healthcare professional associations, and other expert conferences!

    100+

    AESGP Committees and

    Expert Group Meetings

    100+ AESGP Committees and Expert Group Meetings

    AESGP primarily operates via 6 technical committees. These committees are composed of AESGP members’ representatives who meet regularly and develop AESGP positions in key areas. Alongside these committees are a number of expert working groups established on specific matters such as supply chain, switch, etc., that assist technical committees.

    Global

    Leadership

    Global Leadership

    AESGP represents its members on the global level at the Global Self-Care Federation (GSCF), an organisation that connects associations and manufacturers of self-care products across more than 30 countries in the world.

    Joint Papers

    and Statements

    Joint Papers and Statements

    Together with other trade associations, the following joint papers and statements have been released:

  • Electronic Product Information: New Report Shows It Is Time to Move from Principles to Action
  • Joint Statement on The Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive (UWWTD) Proposal
  • Events

    58th AESGP Annual Meeting: AESGP Members Meet in Person Again

    On June 7th and 8th, AESGP celebrated the 58th edition of its Annual Meeting in Madrid (Spain), the first in-person event to take place since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic. With its theme dedicated to "Supporting innovation in self-care at times of uncertainty", the event brought together more than 200 professionals from the self-care sector to analyse the challenges and opportunities of the sector after the COVID-19 pandemic. The professionals included representatives of European institutions, pharmaceutical companies, health professionals, medicine evaluation agencies and national authorities. The 58th AESGP Annual Meeting offered interesting discussions on how to support innovation in these challenging times and how to translate these challenges and uncertainties into opportunities for the self-care sector.

    Read the full conference report.

    The “Voice of Self-Care”

    Celebrates Its First Anniversary

    The “Voice of Self-Care” Celebrates Its First Anniversary

    Launched in 2021, and already boasting over 350 readers, The Voice of Self-Care is a monthly newsletter for anyone interested in the topic of self-care. It captures key actions and areas of interest for AESGP and has been designed to keep external audiences up to date on our latest activities and events. Interested ? Subscribe now!

    A New

    Sustainability Strategy

    A New Sustainability Strategy

    At AESGP, we are making sustainability an overarching objective of the association and embedding it into our vision. We aspire to lead and champion self-care with an aim to ensure that people have access to safe and effective self-care products while contributing to the sustainability of European healthcare systems and our environment. To achieve that we will:

    • Promote a holistic approach to sustainable lifecycle management of self-care products.
    • Support sustainable and transparent management of ingredients and materials that are being used in self-care products.
    • Support member self-care companies in sustainable transitions and leave no one behind.
    • Spreading the Word About

      Self-Care, Sustainability and

      Antimicrobial Resistance

      Spreading the Word About Self-Care, Sustainability and Antimicrobial Resistance

      In 2022, we initiated new awareness campaigns

    • #SustainableSelfCare, For A Healthy Society And Planet As global citizens and players in the life sciences industry, we are concerned about the environmental degradation of our planet and its consequences on life and health. We believe that everyone – citizens, businesses, and politicians –can take action at their own level. During the EU Green Week, AESGP launched its #SustainableSelfCare campaign to start the conversation on the role and commitment of our Industry towards overall sustainability efforts. The campaign highlighted inspiring examples demonstrating how our members are working for a healthier society and planet. Read more about it here.
    • International Self-Care Day 2022 – AESGP Self-Care Summer School: As part of the celebrations of International Self-Care Day 2022, we invited our members and social media followers to enrol in the AESGP Self-Care Summer School. The campaign provided tips and tricks to practice self-care responsibly and with confidence. Using interactive and fun materials featuring our animated self-care ambassadors, we invited participants to take a step forward and become self-care ambassadors themselves. Read more about it here.
    • #KeepAntibioticsWorking with AESGP! Preserving the effectiveness of antibiotics and combating antibiotic resistance is a real public health issue and a challenge in which we all have a role to play. As part of the celebrations of European Awareness Day (EAAD) and World Antimicrobial Awareness Week (WAAW) in November, we launched a new social media campaign to provide self-care tips on keeping antibiotics working. Psst! Want to learn more about antibiotic resistance and AESGP's activities? Visit our page.
    • Our Databases Get a Makeover

      Our Databases Get a Makeover

      As part of our commitment to evidence-based policy and transparency in the self-care market, we have gained extensive knowledge of the regulatory, legislative and market provision of self-care products. Over the years we have been compiling and providing access to this knowledge via our databases. New advances in technology meant that our databases needed to be revamped to keep up with modern times. Mission accomplished!

      Discover our databases here.

      New Strategy

      2022 – 2026

      New Strategy 2022 – 2026

      Signed off by the AESGP Board in 2021, the new AESGP Strategy 2022 – 2026 kicked off. This new roadmap, developed together with AESGP members, will deliver AESGP’s goals by focusing efforts on the following 5 strategic objectives:

    • Policy & Regulation: Fostering fit-for-purpose regulatory and policy frameworks for self-care products.
    • Environmental Sustainability: Contributing to a sustainable green transition and being recognised as a responsible industry reducing its environmental footprint.
    • Digital Transformation: Contributing to a people-centric digital transformation for a healthier society by empowering citizens and optimising regulatory pathways.
    • Self-Care Recognition: Promoting the value of self-care to individuals and its contribution to healthcare systems' sustainability; promoting scientific and technological innovation in self-care.
    • Ingredients & Packaging Material: Fostering proportional and sustainable safety assessment and management frameworks for substances entering self-care products' formulae/packaging.
    • key facts aboutthe self-care industry

      REPRESENTING MEMBERS

      Events & publications

      Flagship initiatives