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What will it take to get help from the government before an individual or sector breaks? Pharmacists raised questions after the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee (PSNC)'s 2023 Pharmacy Pressures Survey confirmed the ongoing pressures and health issues faced by the pharmacies. Pharmacists are not all shocked by the PSNC's survey report as they feel the same as what has been reported related to their businesses and health. They hope the government listens and work with them to find resolutions. "We are bullied into a corner," said Salim Jetha Chairman, Avicenna. "Unlike other industries, we can't increase our prices. Most of the daily calls I get from Independents is about financial health of their business and any cost cutting would be detrimental to patient care. Urgent holistic review is required." Bristol pharmacist Ade Williams said: "The report is a dire indictment, and I would also warn, likely an underestimate of the extent and detrimental impact of the ongoings pressures and squeeze on Community pharmacies." "If the closest interface of the NHS to communities and patients is so distressed, what does that mean for those that need and depend on us? We are notoriously very stoic, so this is a warning light, which, taken with workforce pressures, market-exit activity, and other reports raising concern about wellbeing and stress, must beg the question; what will it take to get help before the sector and individuals break?" he questioned. The survey results don't surprise Kent-based community pharmacist Amish Patel. He said, "I have been feeling exactly what has been reported for far too long. I'm burnt out and would say beginning to suffer with my own health because of it. Now it's for PSNC to talk to government, and government to listen and work with us to find resolutions."

British pharmaceutical giant GSK said on Saturday (April 15) its oral antibiotic drug to treat uncomplicated urinary tract infections (uUTI) in female adults and adolescents met the main goals in late-stage trials. The drug, gepotidacin, in phase III trials, met its primary goals of being on a par or better than nitrofurantoin, the current standard of care for the treatment of uUTIs, the company said. GSK plans to submit results of the trials to the United States Food and Drug Administration for review later in the second quarter. The drug, if approved, could become the first new type of antibiotic, which is critically important for countering drug-resistant infections, to treat uUTIs in 20 years, the company said. "Gepotidacin, if approved, will offer a much-needed additional oral treatment option for patients at risk of treatment failure associated with resistance or recurrence of uUTI," Chris Corsico, senior vice president of development at GSK, said.

Superdrug, one of the leading health and beauty retailers, is all set to invest in 25 new stores this year, expanding its bricks-and-mortar retail footprint. It confirmed with Pharmacy Business that amongst its 25 new stores there "will be a mix of pharmacy and retail stores". The venture is expected to create over 570 jobs nationwide, creating a seamless customer experience and providing vital support for high streets and local communities. The investment, part of the brand's O+O (Online + Offline) platform strategy to deliver its omnichannel ambitions, is driven by continued strong performance figures. In Q4 2022 Superdrug reported increased volume and value sales and footfall across both sides of the beauty and health business. Whilst in 2021 revenue rose 5.1% to £1,168million with a profit before tax increase of 141.3%. The investment strategy has already seen Superdrug open new stores in Washington Gallery and Falkirk Retail Parks in February 2023 and in Braehead, the largest Superdrug in Scotland, just last month.

Community pharmacies will be able to deliver approximately 15 million blood pressure screenings by 2026, revealed the Company Chemists' Association (CCA)'s new research. This will also prevent 15,000 people from suffering heart attacks or strokes. CCA has called the Government to take up their offer and commission pharmacies as the first port of call for cardiovascular care. "Thousands of lives can be saved with ambitious commissioning and the investment to match," said CCA. There is an opportunity to use the expertise of community pharmacy to go further and provide the care these newly identified patients' need. To do this the sector needs funding and workforce. The association said: "Community pharmacy is under great financial pressure, suffering a real term funding cut of over 30% over 8 years. With funding, the sector can transform to deliver this critical need for patients. Whilst there are plans to train Independent Prescribers (IPs), there are no clear roles for them to use these skills. There is a need to accelerate training plans to allow pharmacists to deliver the service described here and play their part in CVD management."

Shadow Health Secretary Wes Streeting outlined his plans for NHS reform on Friday (21 April), where he also mentioned a desire to see pharmacies take on more workload and pharmacists' clinical skills to be better utilised. In his speech, he also expressed concern at warnings from the pharmacy sector and pharmacy closures. The Company Chemists' Association (CCA) appreciated Shadow Health Secretary's desire to enhance pharmacies' role in primary care reform but also stated that the sector is in urgently needs a funding injection. Dr. Nick Thayer, Head of Policy at the Company Chemists' Association (CCA) comment: "We are pleased to see the Shadow Health Secretary recognise the enhanced role that pharmacies should play in primary care reform. Mr Streeting wants to see care brought closer to people's homes and more front doors into the NHS. With 89.2% of the population located within a 20-minute walk of a pharmacy, pharmacies do just that. They are essential to realising his vision of a 'neighbourhood health service'. Pharmacies could free up over 42m GP appointments annually, including 10m vaccination appointments. Urgent same-day appointments for minor conditions in pharmacies will immediately benefit patients by increasing GP access. The first step is for the Government to immediately commission a fully-funded Pharmacy First service in England.

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Haleon, the consumer healthcare giant behind brands like Sensodyne toothpaste and Advil painkillers, has announced plans to shut down its Maidenhead manufacturing site in the UK. This decision will impact 435 employees and comes as part of a broader strategic realignment of the company's global manufacturing operations according to BBC. The Maidenhead facility, which has been in operation for years, manufactures some of Haleon's most popular oral health products, including Sensodyne and Parodontax. However, following a comprehensive review of its manufacturing capabilities, the company has concluded that the site is no longer economically viable. In a statement issued by a spokesperson for Haleon, they stated, "Following a strategic review of our global manufacturing capabilities, we have determined that our Maidenhead site is no longer a viable option for the manufacture of our products."

Community Pharmacy England (CPE) has expressed dissatisfaction with the spring budget as it brings "no specific relief" for the community pharmacy sector, which is grappling with "soaring costs and severe medicine supply and pricing issues." UK Chancellor Jeremy Hunt announced his Spring Budget on Wednesday, confirming an extra £2.5 billion in day-to-day revenue funding for the NHS in England in 2024-25 and a new NHS productivity plan worth £3.4bn to modernise IT systems. The Chancellor said that day-to-day spending would grow by 1 per cent per year on average in real terms, and the productivity plan is estimated to "unlock £35 billion worth of savings" from 2025-26 to 2029-30. However, CPE chief executive, Janet Morrison commented that the budget has "no obvious good news" for community pharmacies who need "urgent relief from the ongoing unsustainable funding and operational pressures" they are facing. Morrison described the investment in Pharmacy First as "the most significant investment in pharmacies in a decade", but emphasised the need for further support to stabilise the sector and its core contractual arrangements.

Derriford Hospital is set to move its outpatient pharmacy to a bigger unit, which will be twice as big as the current size. The new pharmacy, due to open in Spring 2024, is located adjacent to the hospital's on-site Costa Coffee shop in the multistorey car park building. University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust said work is ongoing on the new 155 square metres pharmacy, but measures such as covered seating has been implemented. Additionally, the pharmacy's opening times would be extended during the weekends to benefit patients who are unable to attend during the week, the Trust said, noting that demand for its services has grown by 25 per cent. Kandarp Thakkar, Chief Pharmacist & Clinical Director of Medicines Optimisation, said the pharmacy serves thousands of outpatient appointments each week.

As the population continues to age, the number of dementia cases in the UK could increase to rise to 1.5 million by 2040, a new study has predicted. The study report from Future Health also cautioned that over half a million people with dementia could remain undiagnosed by 2040, representing an increase of nearly a quarter of a million compared to the current figure, if there is "no progress in improving diagnosis rates." At present, approximately 850,000 individuals in the UK are living with dementia, with an estimated 315,000 cases going undiagnosed. Sponsored by Lilly, the study also highlighted significant variations in diagnosis rates across the four nations. Despite improvements, England's dementia diagnosis rate stands at 64.6 per cent, falling short of the two-thirds target.

Merseyside Police have appealed for information from the public following the theft of "a large quantity" of medication from a pharmacy in West Derby this week. As per the police report, the burglary occurred in the early hours of Monday, 12 February, at the pharmacy situated on Deysbrook Lane. Authorities were informed at around 9:15 am. Based on the CCTV footage they have recovered, the Merseyside Police revealed that a man entered the pharmacy at around 1.20 am on 12 February and stole a large quantity of medication, including diazepam, codeine, co-codamol, pregabalin, zopiclone. These are prescription-only drugs that could cause "serious harm" if a significant amount is taken, the report said. The suspect, described as a white man of slim build, was wearing a grey coloured tracksuit and glasses, according to the police.

The General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) has announced the names of five new members who will be joining its governing Council over the next two years. The new council members are: Professor Dianne Ford, Pro Vice-Chancellor of the Faculty of Health and Life Sciences at Northumbria University. Gareth Powell, a chartered accountant and a Non-Executive Director on the Board of the Port of Milford Haven, the UK's largest energy port. Adeyemi (Ade) Williams MBE, Superintendent Pharmacist and Director of the M J Williams Pharmacy and lead Pharmacist at the Bedminster Pharmacy, Bristol. Tim Jaggard, Deputy Chief Executive and Chief Financial Officer at University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. Dr Raliat Onatade, Chief Pharmacist and Director of Medicines and Pharmacy for North-East London Integrated Care System. Professor Ford, Powell and Williams will begin their terms on 1 April 2024, replacing Jo Kember, Mark Hammond and Arun Midha.

Medipharmacy has been bought out by PI-Gen Pharma Limited, an arm of the independent pharmacy group Enimed, for a total of £7.1 million, after the business entered into administration. In a report published on Companies House on January 30, administrators at FRP confirmed that the transaction was completed on 18 January, with PI-Gen beating five other bidders to acquire the insolvent NHS pharmacy chain. The report added that PI-Gen submitted a cash offer of non-refundable £500k for Medipharmacy's goodwill, £2.1m for its freehold properties, and a further amount for its fixtures and fittings, motor vehicles and stock. An FRP spokesperson told The Standard that Medipharmacy, which operated a chain of 25 NHS community pharmacies across London, Kent, Surrey and West Sussex, had faced increasing cashflow challenges in recent months. According to the administrators' report, Medipharmacy's revenues had grown exponentially from £27.9m in 2022 to £69m in 2023 but didn't deliver corresponding improvements in profitability.

Over a century-year-old Boots pharmacy in St James's Street, Brighton shut its doors permanently on Saturday (20 January) leaving the communities disappointed. The branch in Kemp Town, which was opened to the public for the first time in 1914, was supposed to close on November 19 last year but continued trading into the new year, The Argus reported. Locals are not happy with the retailer's decision to close the store as some say it used to be "always busy with prescriptions and people buying things." Another person recalled that Boots had earlier closed two pharmacies, one on Lewes Road, Brighton, and another on Church Road, Hove. The American-owned health and wellbeing chain is in the process of closing more UK branches in the coming months as it's targeting to reduce its store portfolio to 1,900 from 2,200.

Consumer healthcare group Haleon on Thursday announced that it has entered into a binding agreement for the sale of the ChapStick brand to Suave Brands Company, a company owned by American private equity firm Yellow Wood Partners. The British consumer healthcare company has agreed to sell its lip balm brand to Suave for about $430 million in cash and a minority interest in the buyer, valued at around $80 million. Haleon, which was spun off from the GSK Group in July 2022, said that cash proceeds from the sale would be used to pay down debt. ChapStick generated £112 million ($142.5 million) in revenue in 2023, said Haleon, adding that the sale is likely to close in the second quarter of 2024. Brian McNamara, Chief Executive Officer, Haleon, said: "Today's announcement is consistent with Haleon being proactive in managing our portfolio, and being rigorous and disciplined where there are opportunities for divestment. "While ChapStick is a great brand, much loved by consumers around the world, it is not a core focus for Haleon.

Superdrug is bolstering its physical presence by launching 25 new stores this year as it celebrates its 60th year on the British high street. Additionally, the health and beauty retailer has announced plans to extend seven of its existing branches and refit another 60 throughout 2024. However, the retailer has confirmed the locations for only four upcoming stores - Wheatley Centre Shopping Parkin Doncaster, St David's Centre in Cardiff, Bluewater Shopping Centre and Westfield Stratford City. As reported by Mirror, the Donacaster site is expected to open by the end of this month, followed by the relocation of its existing Cardiff store to a new 11,3000 sq. ft space shortly thereafter. Superdrug is also shifting its Westfield Stratford City store, doubling its size to 9,892 sq. ft. Likely to be opened in the summer, it will be one of the retailer's biggest stores.

Christie & Co, a specialist business property adviser, recently finalised the sale of two pharmacies-one located in Wales and the other in Hampshire. Sylvia Williams Chemist, a well-performing community pharmacy located on the main high street of the Vale of Glamorgan market town of Cowbridge, has been sold after an impressive 50 years of ownership. Dispensing an average of 12,500 items monthly, the business has been owned by Kate Thomas and her family for nearly 50 years. It was put on the market to enable her retirement and allow her to focus on other interests, the broker said. The pharmacy has been purchased by Zaid Salih, making it his second pharmacy acquisition. Jonathan Board, Director - Medical at Christie & Co, who handled the sale, said that Sylvia Williams Chemist attracted a wide range of buyers.

Staveley Pharmacy, a well-established community pharmacy located in the picturesque village of Kendal within the Lake District, has undergone a change in ownership. The family-run business led by a husband-and-wife team has been acquired by brothers Mohammad Waqas and Khuram Shazad, taking the helm as first-time buyers, according to Hutchings Consultants. Known for its strong counter trade and deep community ties, the pharmacy has been nurtured and managed by the previous owners with a profound dedication to the local community. Over the years, they have developed the business into a trusted local institution. Paul Steet, Associate Director of Hutchings who managed the sale, reflected on the transition, noting the longstanding relationship with the sellers. "Having worked with the previous owners since 2015 when they initially contacted Hutchings Consultants to discuss a valuation of the business, I feel personally connected to this pharmacy. I am delighted that Mohammad and Khuram will be taking over the reins," he said.