The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has reclassified codeine linctus, a medicine used for the treatment of dry cough, from
a pharmacy-only medicine (P) to a prescription-only medicine (POM) owing to the risk of dependence, addiction, and overdose.
This implies that the dry cough syrup, which is also known as codeine oral solution, can only be dispensed upon the submission of a prescription at a pharmacy,
rather than being accessible over the counter upon request.
Patients are cautioned that as an opioid medicine, codeine can be addictive, and the risk of addiction may increase, particularly with prolonged use over an
extended period.
According to the medicines regulator, codeine is converted into morphine by the liver enzyme CYP2D6. In individuals identified as ultra-rapid metabolizers, this
conversion from codeine to morphine occurs at a faster rate than in others.
"If you want to stop taking it and have been taking codeine linctus for a long time, then it is important to reduce the amount you take slowly with the help of
your prescriber," the agency said in its drug safety update issued on Tuesday, 20 February.
Southwark Crown Court on Thursday sentenced two pharmacists to two years of imprisonment each, suspended for 24 months, after they were found guilty of
selling 'industrial' quantities of Class C controlled drugs.
Mandip Sidhu (47) of Littleover, Derby and Nabeil Nasr (42) of Cheadle, Greater Manchester, pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing following an investigation by
the Criminal Enforcement Unit of the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Authority (MHRA).
Both Sidhu and Nasr were pharmacists registered with the General Pharmaceutical Council at the time of the offenses, which took place between May 2013 and
June 2017. Sidhu was the director of Pharmaceutical Health Limited (PHL) in Derby, while Nasr owned several pharmacies across the North West of England.
Sidhu was sentenced to two years imprisonment on each of five counts of supplying Class C drugs and four months for forgery, all to run concurrently and suspended
for 24 months. Additionally, she must complete 200 hours of community service for her role in the illegal supply of diazepam, zolpidem, and zopiclone.
It has been reported that several Austrians have been taken to the hospital after injecting fake Ozempic, as confirmed by health regulator.
Austria's Federal Office for Safety in Health Care (BASG) confirmed that the patients have suffered hypoglycaemia and seizures.
It is believed that the injections contained insulin instead of the weight loss drug, semaglutide.
The health regulator has urged doctors and patients to verify their medication stocks.
Reacting to recommendations from a UK-first independent review, the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has outlined action to tackle potential
bias in the design and use of medical devices.
Professor Dame Margaret Whitehead, professor of public health at the University of Liverpool, was appointed to lead the review, which focused on three
areas - optical devices such as pulse oximeters, AI-enabled devices, and polygenic risk scores (PRS) in genomics.
The DHSC commissioned the medical devices review after concerns were raised that pulse oximeters - widely used during the COVID-19 pandemic to monitor blood
oxygen levels - were not as accurate for patients with darker skin tones. There were worries that this could cause delays in treatment if dangerously low oxygen
levels in such patients were missed.
However, no evidence was found from NHS studies indicating that this differing performance had an impact on patient care.
Accepting the report's conclusions, the DHSC has committed to several actions, such as ensuring the safe use of pulse oximeter devices across a range of skin
tones within the NHS and eliminating racial bias from data sets employed in clinical studies.
