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Members of the Pharmacists' Defence Association (PDA) who have benefits in the Boots Pension Scheme have sought support from their union following the recent communications from the trustees about the removal of the option to retire at 60 without a reduced pension. The company claimed that retirement between 60-65 years old without a reduced pension was a discretionary benefit, and it has ended with the buy-in deal with Legal and General. However, PDA members believe there is insufficient evidence to fully support this claim, and therefore they are questioning whether this option should have been secured as part of the buy in and not ended with immediate effect. PDA Union national officer, Paul Moloney said: "Instead, we believe benefit statements issued to members, at the very least are contradictory, and clearly state that a full pension will be payable from a member's 60th birthday, with no reference to this benefit being discretionary and therefore subject to a regular review by the trustees. Instead, the benefit statements give the impression that an unreduced pension from 60 is a right with no indication that retirement plans should not be based on the benefit statements."

WBA, Boots parent company revealed the results for its fourth quarter of the financial year, showing three months to August 2023. The reports published on 12 October show the loss of at least $1bn following a net loss of $3.1bn on an annual basis. This marks a decrease compared to a profit of $4.3bn in the previous financial year. The loss was attributed in part to a $5.5 billion after-tax charge related to opioid claims and litigation during the period, as well as the comparison against a $2.5 billion after-tax gain from the company's investments in Village MD and Shields Health Solutions in the same period last year. Ginger Graham, WBA's Interim Chief Executive spoke about the company's performance and its dedication to their customers and patients.

Viveca Biomed has launched an innovative and clinically-proven bladder support device that offers women immediate relief from stress urinary incontinence (SUI) and provides community pharmacy contractors with a way to build a new consumer base, customer loyalty and sales margins. The product, named 'Contrelle Activgard', has already recorded millions of sales in Scandinavia over a decade. The company behind the UK launch is female healthcare business Viveca Biomed, founded in 2019 by Andrew Tasker who has spent 30+ years in senior roles within the OTC and pharma industry. Contrelle is manufactured, packed and distributed in the UK at Viveca Biomed's factory near Newcastle, with no outsourcing, and thus offering the best possible continuity of supply. Ahead of the launch, the company commissioned a large consumer lifestyle survey with 500 women over 40 years of age who experience bladder leaks, to reveal the extent of its detrimental impact. Contrelle Activgard is a safe, discrete, easy-to-use and highly effective, single-use vaginal device, designed to immediately prevent SUI rather than just deal with the leakage.

The Pharmacists' Defence Association has helped its members to secure around £196,000 last year from employers who treated pharmacists badly or breached their rights in some way. The association strives to help members to resolve workplace disputes quickly, locally, and amicably, however some cases need escalation into the legal system, it said. It helps pharmacists to understand and exercise their rights in case unfair treatment occurs to them. Though no employee expects to be treated badly, this is the reality for some pharmacists, the PDA stated.

The multiple is working in partnership with the UK's other retailers and the Home Office to tackle 'retail crime' at 10 Downing Street on 23 October. The initiative is known as "Operation Pegasus", chaired by Crime and Policing Minister Chris Philp MP and led by Sussex Police & Crime Commissioner Katy Bourne. Boots with other retailers including Tesco, Sainsbury's, John Lewis, and Waitrose plans to fund a "team of specialist police officers and intelligence analysts".7 Bourne, the national lead for business and retail crime claimed that the action plan will be a "game-changer" for policing as it is "the first national partnership of its kind". She told The Times: "It'll be a game-changer for policing because for the first time ever, policing will get a complete picture across the country of where these gangs are hitting different areas and they'll have that data and intelligence to be able to put that out to local police forces to go after those gangs."

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency has issued a class 2 medicines recall notice for Olopatadine USV 1mg/ml eye drops. Specific batches of this product are being recalled by USV UK Limited as a precautionary measure due to the identification of out of specification results for impurities during routine stability testing. USV UK Limited are recalling the affected batches as a precautionary measure due to out of specification results for impurities during routine stability testing.

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and the Committees of Advertising Practice (CAP) have issued a joint enforcement notice about the 'illegal' advertising of Kenalog injections on digital platforms. The notice warns all organisations offering Kenalog as a 'hay fever treatment' to stop advertising it in any of their social media or website advertising. "Kenalog is a prescription-only medicine (POM), which must not be directly or indirectly advertised to the public. Kenalog is not licensed for the treatment of hay fever in the UK, although it is offered by some beauty and aesthetics clinics, under the personal responsibility of an individual prescriber, and advertised widely on social media," said MHRA. "Now, advertisers must ensure that all references to Kenalog in the text, images or emojis on social media are removed, as well as commonly-used descriptive phrases for the jab such as 'hay fever injection' or hay fever jab' or any account names, testimonials or memes by 29 August 2022." After this date, the CAP's compliance team will remove non-compliant ads using targeted software and those who continue to promote it may be referred to the MHRA for further enforcement action.

The Department of Health and Social Care has issued a Serious Shortage Protocol (SSP) in response to a significant ongoing disruption to the supply of Paracetamol 120mg and 240mg suppositories. Effective from Tuesday (Jan 25), SSP015 provides that for every Paracetamol 120mg or 240mg suppository originally prescribed, one Paracetamol 125mg or 250mg suppository must be supplied. SSP015, authorised by the Secretary of State, has been developed by clinicians and provides pharmacists with procedures to follow in providing either of these suitable alternative products to help reduce the number of patients having to return to their prescriber for a replacement prescription. The SSP may be amended or revoked at any time but currently expires on 18 February 2022 - PSNC will update contractors on any changes.

HayMax, maker of the famous organic drug-free allergen barrier balm has been awarded the 'British Made Award' for Best British Allergy Product 2022. The award celebrates businesses that work tirelessly to make their region one of the most diverse and dynamic the UK has to offer. HayMax MD and creator Max Wiseberg comments: "This award means a great deal to us. We've always been proud that our products have been manufactured in the UK. We are passionate about reducing the cost to the environment so being British-made means we keep the miles down and reduce our carbon footprint." HayMax balms are manufactured in the UK. It buys local to reduce the cost to the environment, even if it means it costs a bit more. HayMax's current pots are now made in the UK, which has been great for reducing their carbon footprint. Its tins come from London. The new pots can be recycled and re-used. The brand has now switched to using sugar cane to make its pots and has also reduced the amount of material used in the pots by just over 54%. And they have switched from the plastic labels to paper labels.

Superdrug has reported more than 400 per cent spike in sale of the chickenpox vaccines in the UK. To protect children against the disease during chickenpox season, nearly nine out of 10 patients (87 per cent) have taken their wards under the age of five for vaccination in the last eight weeks. Chickenpox can be a seasonal disease with children usually catching it in the winter and spring, with UK peaks often between March and May. The last two years of spending time in and out of various lockdowns have meant less interaction between people, and so less transmission across the general population. Caris Newson, head of healthcare services at Superdrug, said: "One of the knock-on effects of Covid is that people have a greater awareness and understanding of the benefits that vaccines can offer. "We launched the chickenpox vaccination service five years ago in 2017 and it's now that we're beginning to see greater interest in how it can support family health. In fact, our fully qualified nurses have told us that they've had more parents ask about the chickenpox vaccination service, and word of mouth has then spread amongst parents and schools."

Superdrug has unveiled its new fertility test service to help women to easily access information about their own fertility and enables them to take greater control of their reproductive health. The service comprises a Superdrug online doctor consultation and personalised fertility test recommendations to help women make more informed decisions about the options available to them. Superdrug's fertility test initial consultation requires customers to fill out a quick online questionnaire. This is then reviewed by Superdrug's team of online doctors, who will work with the patients to identify which fertility tests are best suited to the individual. The new service also sees Superdrug introduce three new fertility blood tests to its portfolio, ensuring greater choice and accessibility. Dr Sara Kayat, Superdrug's medical ambassador comments, "For women that have been trying to get pregnant and not succeeding, or for those who are just curious about their fertility, easy access to blood tests may help provide answers and signpost them in the right direction."

At the European Conference of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases (ECCMID) this year in Copenhagen, Denmark, data on a test that may detect HIV, hepatitis B, and hepatitis C from a single drop of blood are being presented. Hepatitis B or C claim the lives of over a million people each year. Every year, 1.5 million individuals contract HIV, and 650,000 people pass away from HIV-related causes. The World Health Organisation has made the elimination of all three viruses by 2030 one of its global health strategies but new tests are necessary if case numbers are to be reduced. The most common test for hepatitis B, hepatitis C and HIV involves taking a blood sample from a vein using a needle. While this method works extremely well, there is a potentially large reservoir of the three conditions in places where this method is not suitable. This could be prisons, drug rehabilitation centres and homeless shelters, where the taking of venous blood samples isn't always suitable or countries in which the shipping and refrigerated storage of blood samples can be challenging. Alternatives include dried blood spot tests, in which a single spot of blood is tested for nucleic acid from the three viruses.

The UK based Pharma giant Futura Medical Plc's lead product, Eroxon, a topical Stim-gel is now available on NHS prescription in England and Wales for the treatment of Erectile Dysfunction (ED). The Muti-Drug Resistant (MDR) approved alternative to PDE5i, Eroxon is available as an over-the counter off shelf at retailers like Boots and Superdrug; and is available on NHS prescription in England and Wales as a CE-marked medical device. Erectile dysfunction (ED), also known as impotence, is the inability to get and maintain an erection, typically concerning men over the age of 40 due to both, psychological and physical causes such as anxiety, depression, diabetes, and obesity. According to UK Conformity Assessed (UKCA), the approval of the medication is based on evidence from 2 Phase three clinical studies, which showed that 60 per cent of patients taking Eroxon achieved Minimal Clinically Important Differences (MCID) at 12 weeks.