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The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) launched a new Innovative Medicines Fund on Tuesday (June 7) under which £340 million has been made available to purchase potentially life-saving drugs early. This will allow NHS patients in England to have early access to potentially life-saving and cutting-edge treatments Health secretary Sajid Javid said: "I want NHS patients to be the first in the world to access the most promising and revolutionary treatments that could extend or save their lives. "The launch of the Innovative Medicines Fund delivers another manifesto pledge and will fast-track cutting-edge medicines to adults and children to give people renewed hope for a better future." A total of £680 million has been ringfenced for the Innovative Medicines Fund and Cancer Drugs Fund - £340 million each - to fast-track medicines to NHS patients. DHSC said: "The Innovative Medicines Fund will provide quick access to novel treatments, including potentially lifesaving gene therapies for serious conditions with few treatment options. It often takes longer for pharmaceutical companies to collect data on a medicine's clinical and cost effectiveness for rare diseases due to the smaller patient cohort.

The Pharmacists' Defence Association (PDA) has undertaken an additional survey of pharmacists employed in the NHS, before deciding to hold their first-ever ballot for industrial action. The PDA has more than 7,000 NHS-employed pharmacists in membership and the union is actively considering balloting those members regarding strike action. The association said: "The experience of some other unions has shown that the government's restrictive rules, designed to make it difficult for working people to lawfully take industrial action, means trade unions should test members' strength of feeling before balloting." "Trade unions are not only forced to rely upon postal ballots, but for lawful industrial action to be taken, the result must also meet three tests- at least 50% of eligible voters must vote; at least 40% of eligible voters must vote 'yes' and a majority of votes must be for 'yes'." The association is asking members in England, Northern Ireland and, Wales to show if their collective wish, insignificant enough strength, is for strike action. PDA has emailed the survey to all its members in the NHS in the three nations and will close on Tuesday 3 January.

The UK government's proposal to introduce a tobacco and vapes bill received support from the public to create the first 'smokefree generation'. The historic law to ban the sale of tobacco products to children aged 14 and younger from legally being sold cigarettes in England. King Charles delivered his first speech as monarch at the state opening of Parliament on Tuesday, 7 November. The monarch announced the introduction of the "tobacco and vapes bill" in his speech, and it read: "My Government will introduce legislation to create a smoke-free generation by restricting the sale of tobacco so that children currently aged 14 or younger can never be sold cigarettes, and restricting the sale and marketing of e-cigarettes to children."

Pharma giant, Pfizer has announced plans to cut 500 jobs at its Sandwich site in Kent, England as part of its ongoing $3.5 billion cost-cutting drive. The company is also planning to shut its Pharmaceutical Sciences Small Molecule (PSSM) capabilities at the site, a spokesperson of the company told FiercePharma. However, the Sandwich site will remain open and other functions will continue with "a different size," the spokesperson added. Currently, around 940 people are employed at the site, which is the location where Pfizer scientists first discovered Viagra. "We are proud of our heritage of breakthrough science in the UK and we will retain a scientific presence in the U.K. including at our Discovery Park location in Sandwich," Pfizer's spokesperson confirmed in an email to FiercePharma.

NHS England is rolling out a range of tech and data solutions, including an artificial intelligence (AI) system, across the health service to tackle winter pressures. The AI system will be used to identify patients at risk of hospital admission so community NHS teams can get to them first and reduce pressures on A&E departments. On a trial basis, four GP practices in Somerset have started using the innovative technology which can highlight registered patients with complex health needs. Health coaches, nurses, or GPs will then reach out to the people most at risk, and provide them with a range of preventive care such as monitoring, food parcels, cleaning, shopping, as well as escalating care to specialist doctors.

Thousands of cancer patients in England are set to gain fast-tracked access to personalised cancer vaccine trials through a new National Health Service(NHS) initiative, the Cancer Vaccine Launch Pad. This groundbreaking service aims to find new life-saving treatments by matching eligible patients with clinical trials across the country. The first patient to receive a personalised vaccine for bowel cancer is Elliot Phebve, a 55-year-old lecturer, treated at University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust. Phebve, diagnosed through a routine health check, underwent surgery and chemotherapy before joining the trial. Sponsored by German biotech company BioNTech SE, the colorectal cancer vaccine trial is one of several taking place across NHS trusts.

The National Health Service said that over 425,000 patients have utilised its new national online service to complete GP registration within its inaugural year. The GP surgery registration service, managed by NHS England, has granted NHS patients efficient and user-friendly access to GP registration since its inception in August 2022. According to the NHS, more than 1,400 GP surgeries, a fifth of the national count, have joined the NHS online registration service as part of a new plan to improve access to primary care. "This aligns with a new strategy to enhance primary care access, with a target of enrolling 2,000 practices in the Register with a GP surgery service by December 2023." Many GP surgeries still use paper forms, requiring patients to visit surgeries to collect paperwork. However, the new online service has been shown to save GP surgery staff up to 15 minutes per registration by helping to reduce paperwork and admin time, the NHS said. The NHS said that this service enables patients to register with a local GP online at any time, eliminating the need for in-person visits and simplifying the process for both patients and GP surgeries.

The Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI) has laid out a series of urgent actions it wants the newly elected Labour government to implement within its first 100 days in office. Among the top priorities, the ABPI has emphasised the urgent need to appoint a new Chair and Chief Executive for the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). Additionally, the ABPI has urged the new government to launch the Life Sciences Manufacturing Capital Grants Facility without delay. Other measures the ABPI wants Labour to prioritise include: Rapidly passing outstanding UK clinical trials legislation to enhance the UK's attractiveness for inward investment, including into research within the NHS. Increasing commercial flexibility in the NHS England Commercial Framework for New Medicines to remove barriers for companies to launch new medicines and indications so that NHS patients can access the latest innovative medicines.