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To help stop the pharmacists pay delay in Northern Ireland, the Pharmacists' Defence Association (PDA) will present a motion on fairer pay to the ICTU Biennial Delegate Conference, taking place from 5 to 7 July. The PDA motion states, "…there are other employers within the health system, that echo Agenda for Change terms, despite the fact they are essentially private businesses contracted to the NHS, not actually public bodies. While echoing the pay structure has some advantages, these employers also seek to unnecessarily delay pay increases on the basis that the NHS changes are so delayed. The Universities in Ulster Schools of Pharmacy are ranked as some of the highest in the UK. They are gifting our population with high calibre graduates destined to provide excellent patient care. These pharmacists want to stay in a job that helps patients. They want to deliver the care that they have spent years of time and often thousands of pounds to render themselves confident and capable."

General practitioners (GPs) across England have made a resolute stand against proposed alterations in the 2024/25 national GP General Medical Services (GMS) contract put forth by the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) and NHS England. This firm opposition coincides with the declaration of an extended six-month strike by 33,869 junior doctors within the NHS, advocating for full pay reinstatement and reforms in the pay recommendation process. The latest survey conducted by the British Medical Association (BMA) has revealed that an overwhelming 99.2% of GPs in England are against any changes to the existing contract. The proposed amendments, slated for implementation from April 1st, 2024, encompass a meagre national practice contract baseline funding uplift of just 1.9%, notably falling short of recent inflation rates. This corroborates with GP Online poll that recently unveiled widespread GP dissatisfaction with proposed changes to the national GMS contract. 83% of GPs in favour of strikes cite pay and funding concerns, while burnout, high workloads, and patient safety also fuel discontent.

The Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee (PSNC) has been reminding contractors to complete the 2022/23 Community Pharmacy Assurance Framework (CPAF) screening questionnaire by midnight on Wednesday, 31 August 2022. As a result of NHS regulations introduced at the end of 2020, completion of CPAF is now a requirement of the Terms of Service. "Therefore, contractors must complete the screening questionnaire and, if required, the full CPAF questionnaire," said PSNC. It has also recommended that any contractor who has yet to do so takes immediate action. "It should only take approximately 10-20 minutes to complete." Information and instructions on how to complete the screening questionnaire has been shared either via an email from the NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) or from their own Head Office. Contractors are advised to contact NHSBSA by emailing nhsbsa.cpaf@nhs.net if they have not received details of the questionnaire, or if they have any problems or queries completing the questionnaire.

LloydsPharmacy has offered three per cent increase in base pay backdated to 1 April for its store pharmacists, the union of Pharmacists' Defence Association (PDAU) who represented them has announced. "We are pleased to announce that following a consultation of its members, the PDAU has informed the company that agreement can be reached on the company's latest offer, made in July 2022," said the PDAU. The offer made by the company also includes introduction of an overtime rate of 1.5 times basic pay for each hour worked after contracted hours. This will run for a trial period and be reviewed as part of the next pay round. "All pharmacists will receive an initial £1,000 payment under the proposed LTIP scheme, paid in April 2024. This will be to all in the bargaining unit and will not be dependent on meeting any criteria such as targets," said PDAU.

A news report suggests the Department of Health and Social Care is aiming to be ready to start charging for Covid-19 tests which are currently free at the end of June. Britain has been increasingly dependent on rapid testing to try to tackle the more-transmissible Omicron variant, which has spread rapidly through the population but is less severe. The government has previously said it will end the universal free provision of easy-to-use lateral flow devices (LFDs) at a "later stage", with individuals and businesses bearing the cost. The Department of Health has declined to say what the tests cost, citing commercial contracts. One source has told the Reuters news agency they can run to £30 for a pack of seven. Free pick up from pharmacies The tests have been made freely available to order online or pick up from local pharmacies since April. The UK Health Security Agency said that between December 30 and January 5 more than 8 million LFDs were conducted, the highest weekly figure on record.

AstraZeneca said its antibody cocktail against Covid-19 would - unlike its vaccine - be priced commercially as it negotiates supply contracts with governments around the globe. "We are looking at a commercial pricing strategy. That is part of our negotiations with governments," Iskra Reic, Astra's executive vice president for vaccines and immune therapies, said in a media call on Thursday. She added that the group's main objective was to make the shot affordable and broadly available.

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.

Orphan Drug development specialist TMC Pharma has appointed Gordon Cameron to its board as a non-executive director. Mr Cameron has 25 years' board-level experience in biotech and pharmaceutical services sectors. He started his career with EY, then spent several years in investment banking at Rothschild before becoming CFO, and then CEO, of international vaccine company Acambis. For the past 15 years, Mr Cameron has been CFO of Quotient Sciences, an international Contract Development and Manufacturing Organisation and Clinical Research Organisation. In 2004, he was awarded the Officer of the Order of the British Empire for services to the British biotechnology industry. Julie Matthews, chief executive officer of TMC Pharma, said that the new appointment would "enhance our strategic capability and tactical execution as we consolidate our position as a global leader in the Orphan Drug development market."

With growing concerns over the spread of Omicron variant, the UK has signed two contracts with drug majors Pfizer Inc. and Merck & Co to buy 4.25 million courses of antivirals for the NHS patients. The move is aimed at reducing hospitalisations and easing pressures on the NHS. The two new contracts are for 1.75 million additional courses of Merck Sharp and Dohme's (MSD) molnupiravir (Lagevrio®) and 2.5 million additional courses of PF-07321332/ritonavir (Paxlovid™) from Pfizer. The ordered drugs will be available from early next year and both are expected to be effective against Omicron. The recent order is in addition to the 480,000 courses of molnupiravir and 250,000 courses of PF-07321332/ritonavir procurement announced in October.

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."

Starting from January 2024, it will be compulsory for medicine suppliers in the NHS supply chain in England to submit an Evergreen Sustainable Supplier Assessment each year. Suppliers who fail to submit the sustainability assessment will not be placed on medicines contracts, said NHS England. The NHS has taken this move as part of its ambition to reach carbon net zero by 2045. The Evergreen Sustainable Supplier Assessment is a self-assessment and reporting tool for suppliers to share sustainability information with the NHS. Chris McAleer, medicines net zero project delivery manager at NHS England, announced this new rule at the Guild of Healthcare Pharmacists' Procurement and Distribution Interest Group Autumn Symposium held in Birmingham on 2 November 2023.

The General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) has appointed a new provider, BTL Group Ltd, to conduct its common registration assessment sittings, which it holds jointly with the Pharmaceutical Society of Northern Ireland (PSNI). GPhC chief executive, Duncan Rudkin, said: "I'm pleased to confirm that we have appointed BTL as the supplier for the common registration assessment for the next 3 years after a thorough tender process. "The information provided by BTL during the tender process has given us the necessary assurance that they can support us in continuing to deliver a fair and robust assessment that tests candidates' ability to register as a pharmacist. We will now work closely with BTL on arrangements for the sittings in 2022, to make sure we can provide a positive experience for candidates." BTL has extensive experience of delivering services to a range of clients, including the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health and the Royal College of Ophthalmology. Before BTL, GPhC had a contract with Pearson Vue to conduct online assessment in 2021.

Thousands of people in Britain infected with HIV and hepatitis C through contaminated blood transfusions will receive a compensation payment decades after the scandal, the government announced on Wednesday (August 17). The payment of £100,000 ($121,000) to each victim is an interim one after Brian Langstaff, the chairman of a public inquiry into the long-running scandal, last month recommended making immediate payouts before waiting for an ongoing inquiry to conclude. The former High Court judge said that the "moral case for compensation is beyond doubt". The government said the tax-free payments, to survivors of the scandal and bereaved partners of the thousands estimated to have died from the contaminated blood, would be made by the end of October. Thousands of people with haemophilia contracted hepatitis C and HIV after receiving blood transfusions, mainly from the United States, through the NHS in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s. Due to a shortage of blood products in Britain, the NHS bought much of its stock from US suppliers whose donors, including prisoners and other groups at high risk of infection, had been paid for their blood.

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.

Global healthcare company Mundipharma and Vectura, an inhalation contract development and manufacturing organization, have entered into a collaboration agreement aimed at reformulating an asthma inhaler as part of their commitment to reducing the product's carbon footprint. The companies will be working together on incorporating an environmentally friendly propellant into the formulation of flutiform, a pressurised metered-dose inhaler (pMDI) used for asthma treatment, to achieve a near-zero-emissions product. Currently, the product uses the approved apaflurane hydrofluoroalkane 227 (HFA-227), a type of fluorinated greenhouse gas, as its propellant. The European Union's regulation on these types of greenhouse gases targets a two-thirds reduction in their usage and subsequent emissions by 2030. In a joint statement, companies revealed that work is already in progress to find an alternative to the HFA-227 gas. Yuri Martina, Chief Development and Medical Officer at Mundipharma, said: "This is the first step in our long-term plan to develop a near-zero-emissions asthma inhaler.