Group items tagged

Analysis by IQVIA revealed that over the past four years, from May 2020 to May 2024, the average number of prescriptions processed by pharmacies has risen by 8 million per month. However, this is happening against the backdrop of a declining number of pharmacies. During these four years, nearly 900 pharmacies have closed in England, with almost 500 of those closures occurring in the last 12 months. Carol Alexandre, vice president at IQVIA, presented the data at the recent SIGMA UK Community Pharmacy Conference 2024, where she shared insights into the dynamics of the UK market, the pharmacy sector, and the Pharmacy First initiative. As of August 2024, there were just 10,059 community pharmacies (excluding distance-selling pharmacies) in England, 1,589 less than in March 2015, when the number stood at 11,647 (source: NHS BSA). There has been a significant shift in the distribution of pharmacy ownership, with independents (single pharmacies and chains with 1-5 stores) and regional chains (pharmacy chains with 6-200 stores) growing at the expense of managed chains.

Adding to the growing evidence of global medicine shortages, a new study has revealed that the European generic medicines market is "not in shape" to help Europe meet its public health priorities. In the past decade, the rate of generic medicines withdrawals has risen by 12 per cent, while there has been a three per cent decrease in the launch of generic products, as per Teva Pharmaceuticals' recent analysis of IQVIA data. Within the mental therapeutic area, seven per cent of generic products disappeared between 2013 and 2023, while there was a seven per cent decrease in the availability of generic cancer medicines in just six years (2017-2022). These medicines were listed on the Union List of Critical Medicines to help avoid potential shortages, as the European Commission (EC) said this could cause "significant harm to patients and pose important challenges to health systems." While mature generic products constitute the majority of the List, they remain susceptible to withdrawals, despite containing products crucial for safeguarding Europe's public health, the Teva analysis report noted. Since 2013, the number of generic products for the treatment of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder has declined by 25 per cent, with Hungary and Bulgaria experiencing the biggest loss at 83 per cent and 58 per cent respectively.