Thirty-five generic drug manufacturers will make a more affordable version of Pfizer's anti-Covid pill for the world's poorer nations, in licensing deals announced Thursday (17) by a UN-backed organisation.
The global Medicines Patent Pool (MPP) signed agreements with three dozen manufacturers to produce the oral Covid-19 treatment nirmatrelvir for supply in 95 low- and middle-income countries.
US pharmaceutical giant Pfizer signed a licence agreement with the MPP in November. The MPP, in turn, issued sub-licences to the generic drugs makers.
The deals announced Thursday will "help ensure access to our oral Covid-19 treatment for patients in need around the world", said Pfizer chairman Albert Bourla.
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has recommended abemaciclib also called Verzenios, made by Eli Lilly, for people with hormone
receptor-positive, HER2-negative, node-positive early breast cancer at high risk of recurrence who have had surgery to remove their tumour.
The clinical trial result showed that people having abemaciclib with hormone therapy had a more than 30 per cent better chance of their cancer not coming back
following surgery compared with people having hormone therapy alone.
Helen Knight, interim director of medicines evaluation at NICE, said: "Today's positive draft recommendation, which comes less than a month after abemaciclib
received its licence, is fantastic news. The fact that we have been able to produce draft recommendations so quickly is testament to the success of our ambition
to support patient access to clinically and cost effective treatments as early as possible.
"Until now there have been no targeted treatments for people with this type of breast cancer. Abemaciclib with hormone therapy represents a significant improvement
in how it is treated because being able to have a targeted treatment earlier after surgery will increase the chance of curing the disease and reduce the likelihood
of developing incurable advanced disease."
The much-awaited Pharmacy First service has been launched in England, enabling patients to get treatment for seven common conditions from their community
pharmacists without needing to see a GP.
According to NHS England, a total of 10,265 community pharmacies, which is equivalent to more than nine in ten community pharmacies in the country, will be
offering the ground-breaking initiative.
The new scheme allows highly trained pharmacists to give advice and prescription-only medicines for minor ailments including sinusitis, sore throat, earache,
infected insect bite, impetigo, shingles, and uncomplicated urinary tract infections in women (under the age of 65).
With this major expansion of pharmacy services, the NHS is aiming to free up 10 million GP appointments a year while giving the public more choice in where and
how they access care.
The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has published its response to the 2016 hub and spoke consultation which has paved the way for a new discussion
following engagement with community pharmacies and other stakeholders this year.
The response showed that many respondents supported use of hub and spoke dispensing models in independent pharmacies, but expressed concerns about some
practicalities related to it.
Respondents raised concerns around "patient data, liability, implications for the supply chain, and risks to the existence of small community pharmacies."
They also raised question about the speed of access to medicines in an emergency and security of data transfers between hubs and spokes, DHSC stated.
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.
The UK GDP Association has been established as a non-profit organisation, operating as a Community Interest Company (CIC), with a focus on providing a
broader support network, particularly for small and medium business enterprises and pharmacy wholesalers.
In addition to delivering commercially viable Good Distribution Practice (GDP) consultancy services for simple models with smaller budgets, the association aims
to function as a networking platform for Responsible Persons in the UK.
As members of the association, companies and individuals can gain multiple benefits that will add value to their business through access to knowledge, discounted
training, consultancy services, audit and inspection support, as well as resources like document templates for risk assessments, CAPA, deviations, and more.
Moreover, members can enjoy the benefit of a like-minded support network via a dedicated GDP community hub, providing a platform for discussions, seeking advice,
and fostering new relationships.
"Our mission is to ensure that patient safety, GDP compliance, and excellent quality is paramount in all organisations, regardless of budget," the company said.
The Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) has called pharmacy employers and pharmacy trade unions to come together to a round table meeting to agree on principles
for a way forward that ensures patients benefit consistently from access to high quality, adequately staffed, safe pharmacy services.
It has also urged the governments, NHS organisations and individual pharmacy teams to define clear prioritisation plans, which can be embedded in organisational
business continuity plans which set out the pharmacy services that are essential and must always be provided and can be de-prioritised at specific levels of
pressures.
The challenges for pharmacies are compounded by the escalating cost of living crisis. With unprecedented levels of burnout among pharmacists, pharmacy closures
and the potential for strike action, RPS has called for three things- 'professionalism, respect and prioritisation.'
Dispensing activity by community pharmacy in England has witnessed a 4.2 per cent increase across the year 2021 till March 2022, the Pharmacy Market Review
2022 report revealed.
The report launched by Christie & Co, said: "All pharmacy settings saw improvements in dispensing numbers, with standard community settings seeing the highest
increase of 4.2 per cent, with the average moving to 7,173 items, albeit still below the combined average."
"The independent sector fared better than corporate pharmacy, with a combined average increase of 3.5 per cent versus a 1.8 per cent increase in corporate dispensing.
Despite some improvement, integrated pharmacies remained the lowest at 1.9 per cent, in part due to the continued restrictions on patient access."
Dispensing activity for England across the year to March 2022 increased by 4.5 per cent to an average of 7,765 items per month, reversing the decline witnessed
in 2021.
Group items tagged 
