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In response to Thursday (5 January)'s announcement on the proposal of new 'anti-strike' legislation, the Pharmacists Defence Association (PDA) has said that it will work with other trade unions to defend the fundamental right for workers in the sector to strike. The association believes that "industrial action should always be a last resort, especially for health professionals such as pharmacists, however having the option to strike is a fundamental right for working people in a fair and free, civilised society." "The right to strike is a fundamental right through which employees can act collectively to secure and protect pay and conditions." It added: "The Trade Union Congress (TUC) are coordinating the challenge to these proposals." The TUC said in a statement: "The Prime Minister should concentrate on fixing our public services, not attacking public sector staff. The proposed legislation would make it harder for disputes to be resolved."

AstraZeneca UK has revised the expiry dates for certain batches of Fluenz Tetra nasal spray vaccines as a precautionary measure, after finding that their potency (strength) dropped faster than predicted once thawed, during routine testing. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has been informed by the manufacturer that the printed expiry date for a limited number of batches is "incorrect." However, the MHRA has assured patients that the affected batches are safe to use and fully effective within the amended expiry date. If the vaccine is administered after the amended expiry date, it may be less effective in protecting against flu, it said. The UK regulatory authority also reiterated that it "keeps the safety of medicines, including vaccines, under review, and acts where necessary to protect patients and the public."

New amendments to the Human Medicines Regulations will soon allow registered pharmacy technicians to supply and administer medicines under Patient Group Directions (PGDs). Laid before Parliament at the end of May, the legislative changes will come into effect from June 26, 2024, the Community Pharmacy England (CPE) announced today. The introduction of this new legislation follows an announcement made by the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) earlier this year. The regulatory adjustments provide the legal framework for pharmacy technicians to engage in the supply and administration of medicines under PGDs in the course of their professional practice. However, there will be no immediate change in the provision of community pharmacy services, the CPE noted

The prevalence of Covid-19 infections in England rose to around one in 60 people in the week ending November 27, the Office for National Statistics said today (December 03), led higher by the dominant Delta variant rather than the newly identified Omicron. The prevalence was up from one in 65 reported the previous week, the ONS said, adding that 99 per cent of all coronavirus infections which were sequenced were genetically compatible with the Delta variant. "To date, we have not identified any infections compatible with the new Omicron variant (B.1.1.529) among our survey participants," the ONS said. Prime Minister Boris Johnson has introduced travel restrictions and some mask mandates, with a view to slowing the spread of Omicron while work is undertaken to understand it better. There have been 42 confirmed cases of the variant in Britain, which has mutations consistent with reduced vaccine efficacy.

In his first speech as Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Wes Streeting MP acknowledged that the NHS is in crisis while outlining his mission to save the health service. Streeting described the current state of the NHS as "broken," noting its failure to meet the needs of both patients and dedicated healthcare professionals. "When we said during the election campaign, that the NHS was going through the biggest crisis in its history, we meant it. "When we said that patients are being failed on a daily basis, it wasn't political rhetoric, but the daily reality faced by millions," he said on Friday (5 July). The new health secretary remarked that previous governments had been unwilling to admit these simple facts.

British drugmaker AstraZeneca says it's confident that its new version of COVID-19 antibody treatment could protect immunocompromised patients against all known virus variants. Laboratory studies show the antibody, called AZD3152, neutralises all known variants of COVID-19 and AstraZeneca has support from regulators to make the treatment available by the end of this year, the company's vaccines head Iskra Reic said on Tuesday (April 18). AstraZeneca plans, pending more positive data and regulatory approval, to make the antibody available by the end of 2023. These types of therapies are most needed for people with compromised immune systems, either because of underlying conditions or because they are undergoing immune suppressing treatments. They account for nearly 2% of the global population. AstraZeneca's AZD3152, it new COVID-19 antibody, was acquired through a $157 million deal last year with British biotech start-up RQ Bio. The British drugmaker will likely make future investments like its current partnerships with RQ Bio but did not have any deals to announce, said Reic, a long-time AstraZeneca executive who has led the company's vaccines and immune therapies unit since it was formed in late 2021, during the pandemic.

AAH Pharmaceuticals (AAH) has announced the appointment of Brain Chambers as Chief Commercial Officer. "I'm proud to lead the commercial functions in AAH in my new role and broader area of responsibility." Said Brian. "I'm committed to delivering on great value for our customers and building and strengthening our supplier partnerships." Brain is associated with AAH Pharmaceuticals for more than 14 years. He joined the organisation as Business Development Manager in October 2008. His previous role in the organisation was on Sales and Marketing Director. He posted on LinkedIn: "This is a big move for me personally, but that's a side hustle. What is the main play here is AAH becoming a standalone independent wholesale business focussed on only the AAH customer and our core business and this is just one part of that.

There is no sign of a surge of the Omicron coronavirus variant in Britain so far, the chief of the UK Health Security Agency said on Tuesday, adding that there was no rise in the proportion of tests with a quirk that distinguishes it from Delta. Jenny Harries said there were five confirmed Omicron cases in England and 10 "highly likely" cases, but that was not a sign of an increase in "S-gene target failure" in PCR tests in Britain, which is a feature of Omicron. "Right across the country we watch for… S-gene target failure, which is a sort of proxy measure," Harries told BBC radio. Cases with S-gene target failure can then be prioritised for full genomic sequencing.

Former health secretary Sajid Javid on Tuesday (July 12) dropped out of the leadership contest to replace Boris Johnson as leader of the Conservative Party and prime minister. "There is an abundance of both ideas and talent in our party. One of the candidates will be given the honour of becoming prime minister," Javid said in a statement. "I look forward to seeing the debate unfold and to see colleagues working together as a united Conservative Party once the leadership election is concluded." Javid and chancellor of the exchequer Rishi Sunak resigned on July 5.

In a recent meeting with the head of the government's HRT Taskforce, Madelaine McTernan, the National Pharmacy Association (NPA) board members gave a gist on the ongoing medicines supply issues in community pharmacy. The meeting, which explored possible solutions to end the nationwide shortage of some Hormone Replacement Therapies, took place on Friday (May 20). Independent contractors Reena Barai and Olivier Picard gave the so-called 'HRT tsar' an overview of the medicines supply issues in community pharmacy and discussed the new Serious Shortage Protocols (SSPs) which the government introduced in response to the on-going HRT disruption. Earlier this month, the NPA attended an HRT summit organised by the Department of Health and Social Care, alongside other pharmacy bodies, wholesalers and manufacturers. Health secretary Sajid Javid and pharmacy minister Maria Caulfield said they would be working collaboratively with manufacturers to meet demand and boost supply.

The Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) has backed a new framework from NHS England to reduce inappropriate prescribing of addiction-causing medicines. It believes that the new framework is a positive step towards improving patient care by supporting medicine reviews and shared decision making to help people reduce their use of medicines that are no longer providing much clinical benefit. The society has also welcomed investment in innovative approaches to supporting patients and urged all pharmacists to refer people to such schemes. Director for England at RPS, James Davies said: "Pharmacists are well-placed to help reduce inappropriate prescribing of high strength painkillers such as opioids and other addictive medicines. "Pharmacy teams can also often spot repeat purchases of over the counter medicines by patients so are well placed to intervene and give advice on the management of chronic pain. Whilst opioids can play an important part in helping people with chronic pain there has long been a need for alternative approaches that are safer and more effective for patients.

The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has invited views of healthcare professionals and others to tackle the six major health conditions which drive-ill health and contribute to the burden of disease in England. The six major health conditions - cancer; cardiovascular diseases including stroke and diabetes; chronic respiratory diseases; dementia; mental ill-health and musculoskeletal disorders - affect millions of people in England with data showing that one in four suffer from two or more of these major long-term conditions. Recognising the pressure these conditions are putting on the NHS, the government is seeking views on a new strategy to tackle them that will focus not only on treatment but also on prevention. Government is particularly interested in hearing from those who suffer from, care for or provide treatment to people who suffer from multiple long-term conditions. This is to ensure the Major Conditions Strategy is one that will better prevent, diagnose, manage and treat these conditions. Contributions are also encouraged from those working in NHS bodies, local government, the voluntary and community sector, and wider industry, on how best to tackle suffering from one or more of these major conditions. Particularly, it is seeking perspectives on how government and the NHS can work better together with different organisations and sectors to improve the nation's health.

The Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI) has appointed Susan Rienow, country president of Pfizer, as its vice president. "As vice president, she will support the president, Pinder Sahota, general manager and corporate vice president of Novo Nordisk UK, in delivering his priorities. These are improving access to medicines, delivering economic growth and helping to find solutions to big societal challenges such as climate change, AMR, and inequalities," said ABPI in a statement. At Pfizer, Susan leads the organisation to bring the power of innovation, data and technology together to transform healthcare and improve outcomes for patients. She previously led Pfizer UK's vaccines business unit during the Covid-19 pandemic.

With 118 new cases confirmed by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), the total number of measles cases reported in England since 1 October 2023 has gone up to 465. According to the latest data published by the agency, West Midlands continues to see a disproportionately high rate of infections, with a sharp rise in case numbers over the last six weeks, mainly driven by cases in Birmingham. In England, there were 17 laboratory-confirmed measles cases in October, 42 in November, 161 in December, 240 in January 2024. Five more cases were confirmed last week, according to the measles statistics updated by UKHSA on 8 February. More than 70 per cent (329 of 465) of total confirmed cases were reported from the West Midlands, 13 per cent (62 of 465) from London, seven per cent (32 of 465) in Yorkshire and The Humber, and the remaining cases from other regions of England.

Prime minister Boris Johnson announced on Wednesday (January 19) that restrictions re-imposed in England last month would be lifted by from next Thursday (January 27). In the latest development, the government has decided to end the guidance on working from home, asking employers to make adequate arrangements to return safely to work. From the start of next Thursday, mandatory certification based on vaccines and tests will end, however, organisations can still choose to use the NHS Covid Pass voluntarily. Besides, the legal mandate to wear face masks will go away from next week. Making a statement to the House of Commons on Covid-19, he said that infection levels are falling in England mainly because of the country's "extraordinary booster campaign". He noted more than 36 million Covid-19 booster jabs had been delivered, with over 90 percent of over-60s now given a third dose. "Our scientists believe it is likely that the Omicron wave has now peaked nationally," Johnson added, while cautioning "the pandemic is not over". "I encourage everyone across the country to continue with all the cautious behaviours that we know help to keep each everybody safe."

England's chief pharmaceutical officer David Webb on Friday (July 22) officially opened a community health hub at a Hindu temple in west London. The interactive health hub, which was built as part of the 'Festival of Inspiration' - a 10-day cultural celebration of the UK's South Asian Hindu communities, will provide visitors with free health awareness and well-being advice. The cultural extravaganza, which ends on July 31, draws upon the inspiring life, work and wisdom of His Holiness Pramukh Swami Maharaj, one of the world's great spiritual leaders and creator of the iconic Neasden Temple. Sharing his reflection on the festival and the health hub, Webb said: "It's been an absolute pleasure to visit and be a part of the Festival of Inspiration on the hundredth centenary of His Holiness. I've been really impressed by the extensive programme of engagement with the community to improve health and wellbeing." Senior pharmacist Prof Mahendra Patel accompanied Webb during the opening ceremony.

Amid the rapid rise in semaglutide usage, a study has suggested a potential risk of a rare eye condition associated with the weight loss drug. Semaglutide, a glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor agonist (GLP-1 RA), is available under the brand name Ozempic (by Novo Nordisk) in a lower-dose form for managing type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), and as Wegovy (also by Novo Nordisk) in a higher-dose form for weight management in patients with high body mass indexes. Anecdotal evidence has indicated that semaglutide might be linked to nonarteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (NAION). To investigate this potential connection, researchers in the United States analysed data over a six-year period from nearly 17,000 neuro-ophthalmology patients at Massachusetts Eye and Ear Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts, all of whom had no prior history of NAION.

In a first, NHS England and NHS Improvement (NHSE&I) has appointed a pharmacy technician to the chief pharmaceutical officer's team. Liz Fidler, president at the Association of Pharmacy Technicians UK (APTUK), will join the team in March 2022 in the newly created post of senior professional advisor: pharmacy technician practice NHSE&I. The appointment signaled "a new era for the profession, leading the step-change needed to build on and fully realise the benefits of the pharmacy technician clinical role for patients across the NHS system," said Dr Keith Ridge, chief pharmaceutical officer. In the new role, Fidler will provide leadership and professional advice in relation to the pharmacy technician profession in England.

The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has published the full text of the 2024 voluntary scheme for branded medicines pricing, access and growth (VPAG). The 2024 VPAG agreement text sets out the detailed terms of the agreement reached between DHSC, NHS England and the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI) to support patient access to medicines, the financial sustainability of the NHS and the UK life sciences sector. The new voluntary scheme will come into force on 1 January 2024, following expiry of the 2019 Voluntary Scheme and shall remain in force for a period of five years, until 31 December 2028. Manufacturers or suppliers of branded medicines to the NHS have been given time till 15 January 2024 to decide whether to join the new 2024 Voluntary Scheme, or default to the updated Statutory Scheme.

The Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) has launched a partnership with the charity Marie Curie to develop professional standards in end of life care for community pharmacy. Available for pharmacy teams across the UK, the standards will provide a free, evidence-based framework to help community pharmacies self-assess and continuously improve their end of life and bereavement care for patients and carers. They will enable community pharmacy teams to work together to develop their own practice. RPS is setting up a professional standard steering group which will have community pharmacy experts, experts within the field of palliative and end of life care, lay members, and healthcare professionals who interact with community pharmacy. Elen Jones, director lead for palliative care work at RPS, said: "RPS has a long-term commitment, striving to ensure that people living with life-limiting conditions who are approaching the end of life have timely access to medicines and clinical support from a skilled pharmacy team. "The development of these standards, in partnership with Marie Curie, is a crucial step to support community pharmacy teams to undertake simple quality improvement measures and build upon the care they already provide to this group of patients and carers."