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There has been a lot of coverage in the national and pharmaceutical press of the prices being charged to pharmacy owners for certain medicines. Leaving aside the reasons for steep price rises, I have been asked on social media and elsewhere whether pharmacy owners can refuse to supply prescribed medicines if they would make a significant financial loss. Legal obligation The first thing to point out is that the National Health Service Act 2006 imposes a legal duty on the Secretary of State and NHS England to make arrangements for people to receive sufficient prescribed drugs. These arrangements involve the publication of the Drug Tariff. The Drug Tariff includes reimbursement prices or a method for determining prices. Various factors can be taken into account in determining reimbursement prices. The Drug Tariff does not provide a pound for pound reimbursement for medicines that pharmacies supply on NHS prescriptions.

The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has issued a further five new Serious Shortage Protocols (SSPs) for Phenoxymethylpenicillin (Pen V) to enable the continued supply of antibiotics to patients. "The new SSPs, introduced with immediate effect, allow community pharmacists to consider different oral antibiotic preparations, to enable the continued supply of antibiotics to patients and mitigate the ongoing supply disruptions affecting Phenoxymethylpenicillin," said DHSC. On Friday (16 December) SSP043-SSP047 has been authorised by the Secretary of State to provide pharmacists with procedures to follow in providing suitable alternative oral antibiotics to substitute Phenoxymethylpenicillin. "For each SSP, DHSC has included specific patient counselling points which must be taken into account when deciding whether supply in accordance with an SSP is suitable for a patient."

British drugmaker AstraZeneca says it's confident that its new version of COVID-19 antibody treatment could protect immunocompromised patients against all known virus variants. Laboratory studies show the antibody, called AZD3152, neutralises all known variants of COVID-19 and AstraZeneca has support from regulators to make the treatment available by the end of this year, the company's vaccines head Iskra Reic said on Tuesday (April 18). AstraZeneca plans, pending more positive data and regulatory approval, to make the antibody available by the end of 2023. These types of therapies are most needed for people with compromised immune systems, either because of underlying conditions or because they are undergoing immune suppressing treatments. They account for nearly 2% of the global population. AstraZeneca's AZD3152, it new COVID-19 antibody, was acquired through a $157 million deal last year with British biotech start-up RQ Bio. The British drugmaker will likely make future investments like its current partnerships with RQ Bio but did not have any deals to announce, said Reic, a long-time AstraZeneca executive who has led the company's vaccines and immune therapies unit since it was formed in late 2021, during the pandemic.

In a recent announcement the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) unveiled its strategic approach to artificial intelligence (AI), as it sets out to embrace the transformative potential of AI in healthcare regulation. Building upon the Government's white paper 'A pro-innovation approach to AI regulation', released in 2023, the MHRA outlined five key strategic principles guiding its adoption of AI. These principles encompass safety, security, and robustness; appropriate transparency and explainability; fairness, accountability, and governance; and contestability and redress. A science-led organization, the MHRA was tasked with providing an independent view of its approach to AI in medicine and science, aligning with a government white paper. Recognising its role in UK's goal to be a science and tech leader by 2030, MHRA is tasked to evaluate AI's opportunities and risks across regulatory, public service, and evidence-based decision-making area.

Pharmacy Business and Haleon jointly hosted a practical Pain Management webinar on 5 December 2023. The webinar was specially designed to empower community pharmacies with effective strategies for understanding, managing, and reducing pain in their patients' daily life. Pharmacist Faheem Ahmend, director at Health Clinic & MEDLRN, and Linda Perry, account relationship manager OTC at Haleon, engaged in an insightful and informative conversation, highlighting real issues in the pharmacy setting and practical solutions to support community pharmacists.

After a year-long divestment spree, LloydsPharmacy has entered into liquidation and appointed Turpin Barker Armstrong Accountants to handle the process. In its statement of affairs report, the liquidators confirmed that the pharmacy group owes £293m to 514 creditors. This includes £228m owed to the group's former owner Admenta UK and £50m to Aurelius Crocodile - a holding company that was used to control the pharmacy business. However, creditors are set to lose out on approximately £255m as only about £8.2m can be recovered for preferential creditors and £800,000 for its unsecured creditors, the liquidators said. The healthcare chain was acquired by Aurelius when the investment firm took over its parent company, McKesson UK in 2022 for £477m.

In a recent announcement, the British supermarket chain, Asda has launched its first online prescription service becoming the first self-serving shop to offer prescribed medicine supply at the doorsteps through its latest healthcare accessibility venture. The NHS certified online pharmacy service, Asda Online Pharmacy, is set to offer patients a digital platform designed to simplify the prescription process for patients, offering the convenience of online management and home delivery with their partnership with Pharmacy2U. Effective immediately, new patients can register for an account on the platform via pharmacy.asda.com. Once registered, they gain access to a seamless prescription ordering system that facilitates home delivery, along with the ability to monitor the progress of their orders. Prescriptions submitted through Asda Online Pharmacy will undergo rigorous scrutiny by qualified pharmacists before being dispatched directly to patients' doorsteps, all without any additional charges.

The General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) has published new reports on racism and other inequalities in pharmacy, following a series of virtual equality roundtables. This council organised its second equality roundtable on 18 September 2023, focussing on the topic of 'Language Barriers and Health Inequalities', and a follow-up roundtable on 'Racism in Pharmacy: Accountability Counts' on 10 October 2023. A wide range of pharmacy-related organisations, patient groups, equality groups, providers of translation services and software, individual pharmacists, pharmacy technicians and wider teams from different sectors and settings attended the events. GPhC chair, Gisela Abbam thanked speakers and attendees for listening and contributing to the important discussions around racism and language barriers, which she said are "not purely a pharmacy problem, nor a health problem", but a "much broader" system problem. "It is important we acknowledge that, and do what we can to tackle racism and barriers wherever we find them," she added.

Leading health and beauty retailer Superdrug on Monday announced that it has selected on-demand delivery network Gophr to provide its pharmacy delivery service, following a rigorous Request for Information (RFI) process. This means Gophr will be responsible for delivering prescriptions across the UK to people who choose Superdrug to provide their medication. Superdrug's decision to choose Gophr was influenced significantly by the latter's strong Standard Operating Procedures (SOP), its adept ability to track and trace all home deliveries digitally from store to door, and its commitment to offering a best-in-class doorstep experience. According to the retailer, multiple layers of protection are implemented during delivery to uphold standards, ensuring that prescription medicines are handed directly to the intended recipients. Graham Smith, strategic account director at Gophr, highlighted the growing importance of pharmaceutical delivery, especially as pharmacists are now able to provide even more services under Pharmacy First scheme.

Women accounted for 62 per cent of GPhC registrants in 2019, according to the Royal Pharmaceutical Society. Despite representing the majority of pharmacists in the UK, only 2 per cent of women are pharmacy business owners compared with 13 per cent of men. Also, the majority of senior pharmacy leadership positions are held by men, with research showing that only 36 per cent of senior pharmacy leaders are women. Sobha Sharma Kandel, superintendent pharmacist and co-owner of Neem Tree Pharmacy, Abbey Wood, London, quoted these statistics while shedding light on the representation of female leaders in the field of pharmacy. So, what is stopping women from reaching leadership positions in the profession? According to Sobha, the barriers hindering female pharmacists from attaining leadership positions include: Gender Bias and Stereotypes Lack of Representation and Role Models Glass Ceiling and Double Standards Work-Life Balance Challenges Imposter Syndrome Unequal Access to Opportunities Negotiation and Advocacy Challenges "There also continue to be gender and ethnicity pay gaps affecting women in pharmacy," said Sobha, who has been advocating for women in pharmacy by being a part of the Female Pharmacy Leaders Network.

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.

A drug dealer who was operating as an "unlicensed chemist" and selling prescription drugs online has been jailed for six years, according to Essex Police. The convict, identified as 49-year-old Christopher Depp, aka David Jones, was supplying a range of drugs from his home to "vulnerable people" using the postal service, local police revealed on Friday (February 16). Police conducted a search operation at his address in Wood Street, Chelmsford, in July last year and found more than 50,000 pills and tablets of varying types, stashed in toolboxes and spaces around the property. To process the large-scale sale and shipping of controlled drugs across the UK, Depp had set up a room in his property as an office space. He promoted the sale of medications through various social media platforms and messaging applications, and accepted payment from his large customer base using "fraudulently obtained" bank accounts.

The Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) and the Pharmacists' Defence Association (PDA) have responded to the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) consultation on pharmacy supervision, which was launched in early December last year. The DSHC set out proposals to amend the Medicines Act 1968 and The Human Medicines Regulations 2012 to allow registered pharmacy technicians to work without direct supervision, which in turn will help free up pharmacists to provide more clinical care and reduce GP appointments. While the RPS supported the legislative change, it highlighted a range of topics that should be considered and clarified in regulations and guidance. According to RPS, the new concept of 'authorisation', including around documentation, accountability, and the role of superintendent pharmacist and responsible pharmacist, needs clarification.

The UK government has announced plans to update legislation to enable more services and individuals to provide take-home supplies of naloxone - a life-saving opioid overdose antidote - over the next few weeks. Naloxone can immediately reverse the effects of an opioid overdose by reversing breathing difficulties. The medicine can be administered by anyone in an emergency. However, current legislation allows only drug and alcohol treatment services to supply it without a prescription to individuals for future use. The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) confirmed on Tuesday (14 May) that more professionals, including nurses, paramedics, police officers, probation officers and pharmacy professionals, will be able to supply the medicine without a prescription to save lives. Health and Social Care Secretary Victoria Atkins warned that opioid addiction can ruin lives and it accounts for the largest proportion of drug-related deaths across the UK.

"Record long NHS waits are forcing huge numbers of people out of work, including doctors and nurses," said Wes Streeting MP, Labour's Shadow Health and Social Care Secretary as Labour announced a new partnership with Nuffield Health today to tackle joint pain issues among NHS staff and reducing waiting lists. Musculoskeletal problems, including back, knee, hip, and neck pain, are the second leading cause of NHS staff absences, surpassed only by mental health issues. In December 2023 alone, NHS workers missed a record 198,000 days due to these issues, marking a 13 per cent increase from the 174,000 days recorded in December 2019. Nurses and health visitors accounted for 52,000 of these days, up from 47,000 pre-pandemic, while doctors took 3,500 days off, a 9 per cent increase from 2019. The partnership with Nuffield Health will provide up to 4,000 extra places for NHS staff in Nuffield Health's Joint Pain Programme at no cost.

"I dread the day, the accountant turns to me and says 'this isn't working' - as an owner, we shelter our patients and teams from the financial pressures we feel on a daily basis," shares S.G Barai Pharmacy owner, Reena Barai. Today, S.G Barai Pharmacy in Sutton, Surrey joined pharmacies nationwide in the #SaveOurPharmacies day of action, organised by the National Pharmacy Association (NPA) to spotlight the critical funding crisis facing community pharmacies across the UK. Recent figures reveal that over the past decade, more than 1,400 pharmacies have closed in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, with additional closures looming in Scotland due to financial pressures. The NPA reports that three-quarters of pharmacies are operating at a loss, exacerbated by real-terms cuts to funding. "We turned our lights off and wore black today to symbolize the precarious situation pharmacies like ours are facing," said Reena Barai who owns the pharmacy.

Darren Jones MP, the Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury, visited Sigma Pharmaceuticals plc's new Watford facility on Thursday (6 June) as part of the imminent Labour Party campaign trail. Jones was joined by Labour's prospective parliamentary candidate for Watford, Matt Turmaine, and a team of campaign workers. During their visit, the Labour delegation met with the directors and founding member of Sigma, Dr Bharat Shah CBE, and discussed the importance of investment and support for growing businesses and the pharmaceutical sector both in the region and across the country. Sigma Pharmaceuticals, which is believed to be Watford's largest employer, noted that the pharmaceutical sector contributes a significant value to the East of England, accounting for 12.3 per cent of the region's manufacturing gross value added (GVA).

Almost a third of the people in the U.S. without health insurance work for companies with fewer than 100 employees, according to a March 2008 population survey.

Rotavirus Vaccine in developing countries have been tailored according to the conditions. Heat-Stabilty, Easy administartion, and cost of goods are some ke factors taken into account.