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AAH Pharmaceuticals Ltd (AAH) has exceeded the milestone of delivering over 70 million COVID-19 vaccination doses across England, since it was awarded a contract in December 2020. In addition, AAH has delivered over 100 million ancillary items to more than 3,000 healthcare providers. David Bound, chief executive officer of AAH, said: "This is a huge milestone for AAH as we work tirelessly to support our communities. It's also a ringing endorsement of our delivery drivers, warehouse operatives, and specialist logistics teams and the determination, dedication, and passion they continue to show throughout this extraordinary period." The vaccination programme was also recognized by the Supply Chain Excellence Awards. Chris Emmott, senior project lead - Supply Chain, commented: "I'm incredibly proud that AAH was chosen for this job, particularly as we had the skills, the experience, and a great team to help facilitate the needs of the country. To get ready for a project like this, everybody's worked very long hours, they've worked weekends to get everything ready.

The UK government has awarded a £1.7 million contract to Ensilicated Technologies Ltd (EnsiliTech), a University of Bath spinout company dedicated to making vaccines safer, to develop the world's first thermally stable mRNA vaccine. mRNA vaccines have a huge potential to prevent infectious diseases and a range of previously unpreventable conditions, but currently, these vaccines require ultracold storage, needing to be kept at -70 or even -80 °C. The company's ensilication technology allows vaccines and other biological materials to be transported and stored without the use of refrigeration. Dr Asel Sartbaeva, co-founder and CEO at EnsiliTech, believes that the technology could save tens of thousands of lives every year. She commented: "We're so proud to have won this important government grant."

Well Pharmacy, one of the UK's leading independent pharmacy chains, has been offering flu vaccinations for free. The chain says it is concerned as the winter flu season is now in full force, with hospital admissions reaching a peak and flu stats higher than they have been in recent years. Recent data shared by NHS England showed that there was an increase in flu cases by nearly 70 per cent leaving many in hospital each week. Well Pharmacy is worried about those who have yet to have the flu jab and has been urging people to get one for free. It recognises that only children aged 2-11, people over 50, and those with certain medical conditions are eligible for free NHS jabs, leaving millions who would normally have to pay for a flu vaccination which usually costs £15. Research recently undertaken by the chain shows that a quarter of people (25 per cent) think that after so many Covid-19 jabs in the last few years, 'vaccine fatigue' has led to a perceived lack of motivation in others to get their jabs.

NHS England delivered 358 million general practice (GP) appointments, including Covid-19 vaccinations, in the 12 months to October 2023, an increase of 50.9 million compared to October 2019. This equals to 44 more appointments per practice per working day, with over 70 per cent of these taking place within two weeks of booking, data published by NHSE on Thursday (30 November) showed. Health Minister, Andrea Leadsom, thanked GPs and primary care teams across the country for making it possible to deliver around 32,500 more appointments every day, which clearly demonstrate that "more people are getting the care they need, when they need it." "While this is positive news, we know that there is more to do to make it easier and quicker for patients to contact their general practice and continue to focus on delivering the Primary Care Recovery Plan," she added. The Primary Care Recovery Plan published earlier this year is focused on improving access to primary care. It provided GPs in England with £240 million to support them to embrace the latest technology to tackle the 8am rush, and handle more appointments. As of August 2023, more than 1,000 general practices had signed up to digital upgrades to make booking GP appointments easier.

Pfizer said on Tuesday it will pay $11.6 billion to buy Biohaven Pharmaceuticals, making a big bet on its ability to boost sales of the top-selling pill in a new class of migraine drugs. The boards of both companies have approved the deal, they said. Biohaven shares jumped 70 per cent to $141.31, while Pfizer was up slightly at $48.83. Pfizer is flush with cash from a once-in-a-lifetime surge in revenue from Covid-19 vaccines and therapeutics and has said it is looking to buy companies or drugs that could add at least $25 billion in annual sales by the end of the decade. "The CGRP oral medications, though still somewhat newer entrants in a deeply entrenched space, continue to make steady inroads in disrupting the broader migraine market in the U.S.," said BioHaven chief executive Vlad Coric. Biohaven forecast Nurtec sales of $825 million to $900 million in 2022. Pfizer said it expects the pills to eventually overtake the shots.