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Leo Pharma, one of the leaders in medical dermatology, has appointed Kasper Künzel as Interim Vice President and General Manager for its UK and Ireland business. Kasper is an established leader within Leo Pharma, having previously been Vice President, IPO Preparedness Office, at Leo Pharma in Denmark. Kasper brings over 17 years of pharmaceutical experience, previously taking on local and global leadership positions across Leo Pharma in functions including R&D, Finance and Commercial. Having first joined Leo Pharma in Denmark in a financial function, his previous roles include General Manager in South Korea, Vice President of Corporate Transformation, and Director of R&D Business Finance He commented: "I am delighted to join the Leo Pharma UK and Ireland team and continue to build on the company's strong heritage in these markets. The UK and Ireland team are committed to the Leo Pharma values as a leader in medical dermatology, and I'm looking forward to all we can achieve together this year.

Today, pharmaceutical companies can't simply make an effective drug and count on healthcare providers (HCPs) to come to them - they have to find innovative ways to attract them. Statista shows that in 2015 there were only 3,286 pharma companies with active research and development pipelines. In 2023, this number jumped to more than 5,500. As an earth-shattering number of new drugs are flooding the market each year, HCPs are having a hard time determining the best medicine for their patients. Meanwhile, pharma companies invest more in marketing to help HCPs get rid of choice paralysis and make them choose their solution over that of competitors. In this article, we will share the tried-and-true tactics to build a strong pharma brand. Get creative with interactive email marketing One…two…three…No, we're not counting to run a marathon. Three seconds is what you've got to pull your reader in with your email. Fail to quickly grab the audience's attention? We've got some bad news for you. Nobody's going to bother reading about how amazing your pharmaceutical product is if you're churning out generic emails with artificial intelligence tools.

An international specialty pharmaceutical group, Essential Pharma has announced the completion of two transactions with fellow UK-based Rosemont Pharmaceuticals. The company completed the divestment of its oral liquid portfolio to Rosemont, and acquired a series of attractive, niche products with "geographic expansion potential." Commenting on the announcement, Essential Pharma chief executive Steen Vangsgaard said: "The Rosemont products bring additional niche products into our portfolio with international expansion potential. "The divestiture of our UK oral liquid products streamlines our portfolio, allowing us to focus and accelerate our strategic growth ambition of building a leading international specialty pharma platform." Under the divestment deal, Rosemont Pharmaceuticals will acquire the product portfolio of licences, registrations and trademarks, as well as related commercial rights, to a number of oral generic products which are used to treat a range of conditions in various therapeutic areas.

Former Prime Minister Theresa May has formally opened new offices of LEO Pharma UK and Ireland during a launch event in Maidenhead, Berkshire. The company said on Friday (June 16) that the new building, based at Foundation Park, will function as its UK and Ireland operational headquarters. LEO Pharma has been manufacturing dermatology products in the UK and Ireland for over 60 years and continues its commitment to the Maidenhead area, where it been based for 10 years. The grounds offer state-of-the-art facilities and a greener and more sustainable workplace, the company said and hoped that that strong transport connections at Foundation Park will allow for seamless international collaboration, while a range of health and wellness initiatives will contribute to employee wellbeing. This new space will enable a collaborative and flexible work environment for LEO Pharma staff, ensuring they can continue to work to improve the lives of people living with skin conditions, their families and society.

Ceuta Group, a global brand building business providing end-to-end outsourcing services in the health and wellness industry has appointed David Wright as a non-executive board director. With extensive experience of leading global consumer healthcare companies, David joins Ceuta Group following five years as CEO/President of global pharmaceutical company, HRA Pharma and six years as Global Head of Boehringer Ingelheim's consumer business. During his time at HRA Pharma and Boehringer Ingelheim GmBH, David led both companies through substantial organisational and strategy re-design which led to sustainable growth and profitability. The company said: "David has a strong belief that combining the right structure, operational priorities and processes, with a strong focus on company culture, are critical factors in building successful businesses. This approach saw him lead a period of transformation at HRA Pharma resulting in the company's successful acquisition by Perrigo Company plc." David will take an active role on the Ceuta Group Board supporting and building the company's strategic vision and priorities. He will also help shape the company's growth plans on an operational level to ensure Ceuta Group continues to meet client's needs today and into the future.

John Dawson, the founder and former CEO of Alliance Pharma, has donated £5million to the University of Sunderland towards the creation of a new drug research centre. The donation - the biggest in the university's history - will create the John Dawson Drug Discovery and Development Research Institute to improve health and wellbeing of millions of people worldwide. The new centre has been named after the pharmaceutical entrepreneur and Sunderland graduate who, alongside wife Sam, has provided the funding. He and Sam were on Thursday (April 20) joined by specially invited guests from across the region's health, education, and business communities, to launch the Institute housed in the University's Sciences Complex. Unveiling a plaque inside the building, John said: "It's an absolute honour and privilege to be able to launch the new Drug Discovery and Development Research Institute at the University of Sunderland today. "It's been wonderful to be back on the campus and see the incredible developments that have taken place since I studied pharmacy here more than 50 years ago. "I was immediately impressed at what has been achieved in that intervening half-century and I've been delighted to assist the University continue its development, particularly in the health arena. "I hope the launch of this institute will mark the next phase in the University's evolution and I'm very much looking forward to working with the team as they bring their projects to fruition."

Sun Pharmaceutical Industries, India's largest drugmaker by revenue, reported a better-than-expected 5.2 per cent rise in third-quarter profit on Tuesday, driven by higher sales of its specialty drugs. The company, known for its consumer healthcare products such as Revital vitamins and pain relief medicine Volini, said it earned a consolidated net profit of 21.66 billion rupees ($265.23 million) in three months ended Dec. 31, up from 20.59 billion rupees last year. Analysts, on average, had expected the company to report a profit of 21.26 billion rupees, according to Refinitiv IBES data. Total revenue from operations climbed nearly 14 per cent to 112.41 billion rupees. Input costs rose 8.5 per cent. Drug sales in India rose 7.1 per cent to 33.92 billion rupees, whereas sales in the United States climbed 16.6 per cent to 34.66 billion rupees, with each of the two regions accounting for 31 per cent of the company's total consolidated sales. The company, founded in 1983, makes over-the-counter medications, anti-retrovirals and active pharmaceutical ingredients for chronic and acute treatments.

The British scientist who led the research underpinning AstraZeneca's coronavirus vaccine said at the weekend that a new jab could be developed against the emerging Omicron variant "very rapidly" if needed. Professor Andrew Pollard, director of the Oxford Vaccine Group, also said existing vaccines should work against the new strain, but that would only become apparent after more research in the coming weeks. "It's extremely unlikely that a reboot of a pandemic in a vaccinated population like we saw last year (with the Delta variant) is going to happen," he told BBC radio. But if required, "The processes of how one goes about developing a new vaccine are increasingly well-oiled, so if it's needed that is something that could be moved very rapidly." In a statement, AstraZeneca said it had "developed, in close collaboration with Oxford University, a vaccine platform that enables us to respond quickly to new variants that may emerge".

David Webb has been appointed as the new chief pharmaceutical officer (CPO) for England. He will take over from Dr Keith Ridge who steps down next month after serving the role for sixteen year. Webb is currently chief pharmacist and clinical director for pharmacy and medicines optimisation at Guy's and Thomas's NHS Foundation Trust, London. Sharing the news of his appointment on Twitter on Friday afternoon (January 7), he said he was "really delighted and honoured" to be named the CPO for NHS England and that he was as the appointed Chief Pharmaceutical officer for "looking forward to working with pharmacy leaders, colleagues & teams across all sectors from February." He also extended his gratitude to the outgoing CPO for his "outstanding contribution" who, in turn, congratulated Webb and said it was "an honour to be handing over to him". In the same message, Dr Ridge thanked "all the great people I've worked with over the last 16 years for your support, friendship, good humour, great ideas & challenge. I wish you all well for the future."

GSK Consumer Healthcare has recently unveiled a three-year programme to support the pharmacy profession with additional practical resources, mental health provisions and proposed policy changes as part of its new report Standing with Pharmacists in the Age of Self-Care. The new report summarises findings from a roundtable hosted by GSK Consumer Healthcare in collaboration with the International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP) earlier this year, which convened the pharmacy community, policy experts, and industry leaders to discuss the critical role of pharmacy in the age of self-care following the Covid-19 pandemic. "We've seen Covid-19 have a significant impact on consumers' understanding of self-care, leading to an increased focus on wellbeing and everyday healthcare. During this time, pharmacies played a vital role in providing care and advice to their patients - particularly with many other health facilities closed. Our research shows that more than half of Europeans are planning to consult their pharmacist more often than before the pandemic. Yet in general, pharmacists remain under-utilised, despite being the most widely distributed health resource in Europe," said Tess Player, global head of expert at GSK Consumer Healthcare.

The life cycle management company, Pharmanovia, has appointed Nivedita Valentine as associate vice president of Product Innovation. Ms Valentine will oversee the company's product innovation operations and decision-making as Pharmanovia continues to focus efforts on both, identifying new prospects to enhance lifecycle management of its brands through incremental innovation. She will report to interim chief scientific officer Stephen Deacon and help bridge unmet patient needs with the help of novel therapies, originating both from in-house development and through partnerships. Ms Valentine currently holds positions on the value-added medicines committee within Medicines for Europe and the International Rare Diseases Research Consortium (IRDiRC) Task Force on Drug Repurposing Guidebook. Pharmanovia CEO Dr James Burt commented: "Digitalisation and utilising the latest technological innovation are notable areas of acceleration within the pharma industry and Nivedita's appointment will ensure iconic brands will continue to be improved, supported, and used sustainably.

England's chief pharmaceutical officer (CPhO) David Webb has promised his "wholehearted support" for the community pharmacy sector at the board meeting of the National Pharmacy Association (NPA) on 28 June in St Albans. After hearing the CPhO at the meeting, NPA chair, Andrew Lane, later declared: "David is someone we can do business with." Webb thus listed his priorities as head of profession: integration of independent prescribing as part of pharmacy practice by 2026; promotion of inclusive pharmacy practice for all pharmacy professionals; assurance of post-registration practice; developing the role of pharmacy technicians; support for Integrated Care Systems and Primary Care Network pharmacy teams (including community pharmacy); medicines optimisation; and strengthening of professional leadership for community pharmacy. He also reported that NHS England had recently increased its team of regional pharmacy integration leads from seven to 14, creating seven new senior posts. Webb told NPA board members: "I want sincerely to thank community pharmacy teams for everything they are doing and to say that you have my wholehearted support. I believe in the importance of community pharmacy and will listen and engage as I've already demonstrated.

The Pharmacists' Defence Association raised concerns over the practice of firing and rehiring employees, which often leads to denial of individuals' rights to redundancy, forcing them to face cuts to their terms and conditions. It noted that some employers may use the 'fire and rehire' practice to force staff to accept lower wages, different hours, or other changes in working conditions. It cited an example of a lawsuit in which Tesco lost a High Court battle when Usdaw won a case to protect workers from unfair tactics. The PDA said although the trade union won the case, the practice of firing and rehiring can still be legal in some circumstances. However, it believes the practice is both immoral and unethical.

Ahead of World AIDS Day this Wednesday, the Royal Pharmaceutical Society has urged the government to widen access to pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) by making it available through community pharmacies. It argues that such a move could drive down rates of HIV infection across Great Britain. Currently, the medicine - which offers almost total protection from HIV when taken as recommended prior to sex or injecting drugs - is available free of charge only through sexual health clinics. Calling on the government to engage with community pharmacies to improve public health, RPS president Claire Anderson said: "There is a clear opportunity to drive down rates of HIV infection by expanding provision of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) to community pharmacies and GP practices as part of the government's HIV Action Plan.

Thornton & Ross is all set to expand its consumer healthcare offering by acquiring the well-established Opticrom eye-drops brand from Sanofi in the UK. Opticrom forms part of a wider transaction between Thornton & Ross' parent group, STADA, and Sanofi for eight local consumer healthcare brands across several countries, including Belgium, Germany, Hungary, Spain and the UK. The transaction will be financed with a combination of cash on balance sheet and existing facilities, and is scheduled to close in the fourth quarter of 2023, subject to customary approvals of relevant regulatory authorities. Opticrom Allergy 10ml bottle and 20 single doses for itchy, watery, red and inflamed eyes can be found behind the pharmacy counter, while Opticrom Hayfever 10ml bottle is available to purchase via self-selection to soothe and relieve eye symptoms of hayfever. These non-prescription medicines contain 20 mg/1ml sodium cromoglicate (2.0% w/v) and offer relief within 2 minutes.