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.
The nationwide implementation of the Pharmacy First service is viewed as a significant development that benefits pharmacies, primary care, and the broader
National Health Service (NHS). Pharmacy teams are striving to ensure its success despite challenges within the industry landscape. However, not all pharmacists
are able to reap the benefits from it.
Recently, two members of Numark shared their experiences of how the scheme is impacting their pharmacies.
Graham Phillips, who owns Letchworth Pharmacy in Hertfordshire, revealed that patients are responding favourably to the service. "It's all good, people are just
delighted to have easier access to care," he said.
In its first month, Letchworth Pharmacy provided around 100 consultations, and Phillips envisions that as the service matures, they will be able to conduct an
average of 200 interventions per week.
"That will make it financially viable for us and mean that we're acting at scale from an NHS perspective. That's 200 GP appointments we've freed up in a
week - that's a huge capability and capacity bump for the NHS," he added.
Graham credits part of his success with Pharmacy First to the strong relationship he has established with local GPs in his area.