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When Ignasi Biosca-Reig heard there were shortages of amoxicillin in Spain, he quickly added shifts at his drug company's factories to boost production of the popular antibiotic. But a few extra shifts was as far as he could go. Much as he would have liked to significantly increase supplies, Biosca-Reig said he couldn't justify investing millions of euros in new production lines unless he was paid more for the generic drug to cover sharply rising costs. But, like many other European countries, Spain set the price manufacturers are paid for paediatric amoxicillin when the generic version of the drug was first launched in the country two decades ago, and it has barely budged since. "It's a non-business," said Biosca-Reig, chief executive of Spanish drugmaker Reig Jofre. "We wanted to react, but we had a problem," he said. "The costs go up, the price remains the same."

The Pharmacists' Defence Association (PDA) has urged the community pharmacies to complete a short survey on the availability of commonly prescribed medicines. PDA is hearing from members working in community pharmacy about challenges they are facing in fulfilling prescriptions for some of the most common medicines, including antibiotics. It wants to hear from pharmacists on the front line about their recent experiences. The association said: "Whilst at this time of year the incidence of infections and illnesses can be heightened, demand is seemingly higher than usual, and we would like to hear more about how this is impacting on you and the patients in your care,"

The Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) has urged people across Scotland to be kind to their pharmacy teams this winter through its campaign called 'Be Kind'. The pharmacies are facing lot of pressure and challenges during winter, RPS has heard from its members that abuse towards pharmacy teams, particularly those in community pharmacy, has 'unfortunately' risen. The campaign has been running throughout December, to promote 'be kind' message to the public at a time when pharmacy services are particularly stretched by winter pressures and other factors, including the recent shortages of antibiotics. "Throughout December, leading figures have provided a series of powerful videos, which all encourage the public to be kind to their pharmacy teams. The campaign has highlighted personal video messages from many figures including Jason Leitch, Scotland's National Clinical Director, Maree Todd, Minister for Public Health, Women's Health and Sport, and Andrew Carruthers, RPS Scottish Pharmacy Board Chair," said RPS.

From over-the-counter flu tablets to crucial antibiotics and antidepressants, medicines are running scarce in UK pharmacies this year, causing concerns among patients, the government, and the wider pharma industry. Drug shortages have accelerated over the past year due to a clutch of problems including the after-effects of the pandemic on supply chains, the war in Ukraine, and soaring input costs weighing on manufacturers. More recently, a sudden spike in respiratory infections - another by-product of Covid-19 that neither pharma companies nor the government were able to predict - has deepened the crisis, with 70 commonly taken drugs out of stock in Britain as of February. The problem is not unique to the UK. In a recent survey of groups representing pharmacies in 29 European countries, three quarters said shortages were worse this winter than a year ago, with a quarter reporting more than 600 drugs in short supply. The US is also facing significant shortages of popular prescription drugs like amoxicillin and Adderall, an ADHD medication. To some extent, the current disruption is laying bare wider challenges facing the industry for several years that were only exacerbated by the pandemic. The over-reliance on foreign suppliers for most active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) is one of them. This model has left companies more susceptible to supply shocks, which have in turn increased in frequency and severity due to pandemic lockdowns, the war in Ukraine and other issues such as the shortage of shipping containers. Pharma's long and opaque supply chains, alongside regulatory complexities, also mean it is taking longer for drugmakers to reconfigure manufacturing and distribution in times of additional need.

The UK government on Thursday (8 May) launched a new plan to tackle antimicrobial resistance (AMR), a global issue that makes infections difficult or impossible to treat. This is the second phase of a series of 5-year national action plans, aimed at supporting the government's 20-year vision to contain and control AMR by 2040. With the launch of this new national action plan, the UK commits to reducing its use of antimicrobials - such as antibiotics, antifungals and antivirals - in humans and animals. Additionally, it aims to strengthen surveillance of drug-resistant infections before they emerge and incentivise industry to develop the next generation of treatments. There are also plans to expand initiatives such as the world-first 'subscription model' for antimicrobials, launched in 2019 as a pilot.

More than a third of pharmacists who participated in a survey said they have seen an increase in patients declining prescriptions due to the cost in the last 12 months. The survey was jointly conducted by the Pharmacists' Defence Association (PDA) and the Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS), extending their support for the Prescription Charges Coalition (PCC). Responding to the survey, 90 per cent of pharmacists admitted seeing cases where patients decline all the medicines on a prescription due to cost. Nearly all respondents said they have seen cases where patients declined some of their prescribed medicines and more than a quarter of them have experienced such situation often. They have warned of the impact of prescription charges as patients are denying vital medicines, including those for blood pressure and mental health, inhalers, antibiotics, pain relief, and statins, which can have potential consequences for the individual's health.

The outbreak of Burkholderia cepacia complex (Bcc) in the UK, which is associated with contaminated eye gels imported from India, has led to the death of one person, and many others falling ill, according to a government report. Bcc is a group of antibiotic-resistant bacteria that are widely found within the environment. Although it rarely causes infection, it can result in severe ones in individuals with compromised immune systems and those living with cystic fibrosis, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said. Between January 2023 and February 2024, there were 52 confirmed and six probable cases across the UK linked to the bacteria outbreak, as revealed in the Health Protection Report published by UKHSA. Forty-one of these cases were hospital inpatients, 38 of which were in critical-care settings. Twenty-five cases were considered to have "clinically significant infections attributable to Bcc", out of which 11 had eye infections, nine had respiratory infections and four had bacteremia (bacteria entering the bloodstream). Two individuals with cystic fibrosis (CF) were infected, and while one was treated, the other died, with the report indicating Bcc infection to have "contributed to the death."

The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has redetermined the December 2023 concessionary prices for four medicines following requests made by Community Pharmacy England (CPE) on behalf of community pharmacy owners. For Ezetimibe 10mg tablets (pack size 28), the price has been fixed at £17.78, up from £9.44. Other drugs included in the list are Aripiprazole 5mg (£8.52), Digoxin 125microgram (£3.70) and Digoxin 250micrgram (£3.70) tablets. Contractors would be reimbursed at the new prices only for prescriptions submitted for payment for the dispensing month of December 2023. CPE said they are still working with DHSC to agree price concessions for January. Check the final the December 2023 price concessionary here. Additionally, DHSC on Friday confirmed that there's now sufficient stock of Clarithromycin 125mg/5ml oral suspension to meet normal demand, and the Serious Shortage Protocol (SSP), SSP053 for the antibiotic expires on 12 January 2024.

As whooping cough cases rise sharply across the UK, the NHS has reactivated the serious shortage protocols (SSPs) for clarithromycin - a commonly prescribed antibiotic to treat this bacterial infection. Pharmacy bodies had recently warned that community pharmacies were struggling to obtain source clarithromycin for patients. Two SSPs, covering clarithromycin 125mg/5mL and 250mg/5mL oral suspensions, were reactivated on 22 May 2024, and extended until 21 June 2024. These protocols state that for every 5mL of clarithromycin 125mg/5mL oral suspension, pharmacy contractors must supply 2.5mL of clarithromycin 250mg/5mL oral suspension; and for every 5mL of clarithromycin 250mg/5mL oral suspension, one clarithromycin 250mg tablet must be supplied. The SSPs apply to cross-border prescriptions, both NHS and private.

Probiotic supplements can be taken together with antibiotics to ensure that the good and bad bacteria in the body stay balanced.

University of Queensland (UQ) scientists are honing in on drug resistant tuberculosis (TB), in a project which could lead to new antibiotics. The UQ team has identified four new classes of compounds which act against TB bacteria, and hopes commercialisati

The US Food & Drug Administration (FDA) has granted fast track designations for both the intravenous (IV) and oral formulations of Tetraphase Pharmaceuticals' lead antibiotic candidate, eravacycline.

Many are well informed about different diseases that involve oral cavities. Fortunately, several medications assist in treating these diseases. Dentists or dental professionals prescribe drugs for dental care, depending on the issue. Specific medications are offered to prevent or treat infection, reduce anxiety, minimize pain and inflammation, treat bacterial infections, teeth cleaning or whitening, and many others. Overall, this article will get you acquainted with some types of medications dental professionals use in caring for their patient's teeth. If you want to know them, then read them on. 1. Conscious Sedation Drugs Many individuals experience anxiety when visiting a dentist. As such, a dentist may apply conscious sedation to ease such feelings. Conscious sedation is part of sedation dentistry in which a dentist alleviates dental anxiety by using sedative medications. The National Institutes of Health stated that you'll still be awake through conscious sedation. However, you'll become more unmindful of the dental procedure. Also, you may forget what occurred afterward. Note that conscious sedation differs from general anesthesia, which assists in making you wholly unconscious, and dentists generally employ this for lengthy dental procedures.

Adding to the growing evidence of global medicine shortages, a new study has revealed that the European generic medicines market is "not in shape" to help Europe meet its public health priorities. In the past decade, the rate of generic medicines withdrawals has risen by 12 per cent, while there has been a three per cent decrease in the launch of generic products, as per Teva Pharmaceuticals' recent analysis of IQVIA data. Within the mental therapeutic area, seven per cent of generic products disappeared between 2013 and 2023, while there was a seven per cent decrease in the availability of generic cancer medicines in just six years (2017-2022). These medicines were listed on the Union List of Critical Medicines to help avoid potential shortages, as the European Commission (EC) said this could cause "significant harm to patients and pose important challenges to health systems." While mature generic products constitute the majority of the List, they remain susceptible to withdrawals, despite containing products crucial for safeguarding Europe's public health, the Teva analysis report noted. Since 2013, the number of generic products for the treatment of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder has declined by 25 per cent, with Hungary and Bulgaria experiencing the biggest loss at 83 per cent and 58 per cent respectively.