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This week, The Pharmaceutical Journal has reported on continued efforts to tackle London’s measles outbreak, slow progress on patient record access in community pharmacies and regulatory support for pharmaceutical manufacturing in space.
London has become the next city to offer a free, “non-judgemental” drug checking service, while the Scottish government has pledged support for more safer drug consumption facilities and expanded naloxone distribution, including through community pharmacies.
NHS England has launched a consultation on removing masculinising and feminising hormones as routine treatment for children and adolescents with gender incongruence or dysphoria. Meanwhile, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has recommended fezolinetant (Veoza; Astellas Pharma), a non-hormonal treatment for moderate-to-severe vasomotor symptoms caused by menopause.
Read on for more clinical news you may have missed, including reflections on the recent American Society of Clinical Oncology Genitourinary Cancers Symposium from Diana Matthews, advanced oncology pharmacist, at the Velindre Cancer Centre, Cardiff.
Antibiotics and AMR
More than one-third of parents (36%) incorrectly assume children always need antibiotics for ear infections, according to a UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) study, published in the British Journal of General Practice, which surveyed over 500 parents across England whose children had experienced ear infection symptoms in the previous year.
Meanwhile, antimicrobial drug resistance is outpacing industry-wide efforts to tackle it, the Access to Medicine Foundation’s ‘2026 antimicrobial resistance benchmark‘ has warned.
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Toxicity from pain relief drugs
A coroner has suggested that integrated care boards should feed in to national strategies on reducing long-term opioid prescribing, after a patient died from fentanyl and codeine toxicity.
The National Pharmacy Association and Kidney Care UK have highlighted the impact of long-term or high-dose non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, such as ibuprofen on kidney function, as nearly three-quarters (72%, n=411) of people with kidney disease surveyed said they were unaware of the danger.
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‘Eye stroke’ risks associated with Wegovy
The odds of ischaemic optic neuropathy — or “eye stroke” — and sudden sight loss is nearly five times higher among Wegovy (semaglutide, Novo Nordisk) users compared with other weight-loss drugs and three times higher in men than in women, the results of an analysis of unintended side effect reports published in the British Journal of Ophthalmology shows. However, the association was not found with Rybelsus (semaglutide; Novo Nordisk).
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Attitudes to vaccination in pregnant women
Around 60% of women reported that receiving advice from a healthcare professional was an important reason for accepting maternal vaccination, while “to protect my baby” was a strong motivator, a new UKHSA online survey has found.
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Bladder and renal cancer pharmacy at the American Society of Clinical Oncology Genitourinary Cancers Symposium
Diana Matthews, advanced oncology pharmacist and non-medical prescriber in urology at the Velindre Cancer Centre, Cardiff, shares her reflections on the recent American Society of Clinical Oncology Genitourinary Cancers Symposium.
She noted: “For bladder cancer, enfortumab vedotin plus pembrolizumab (EVP) continues to demonstrate highly encouraging outcomes, this time within the muscle‑invasive disease setting. The phase III KEYNOTE‑B15 (NCT04700124) trial evaluated EVP against cisplatin–gemcitabine in cisplatin‑eligible patients and showed a notably strong improvement in event‑free survival, alongside an impressive pathological complete response rate of approximately 56%.
“We are now beginning to see this new cohort of patients entering our centres following the recent NICE [National Institute for Health and Care Excellence] technology appraisal, approving durvalumab with chemotherapy followed by durvalumab maintenance. This shift is highly positive for patient outcomes; however, it does place additional pressure on already stretched services, particularly regarding capacity and the management of emerging treatment‑related toxicities.
“For renal cell carcinoma, two notable phase III trials evaluating the HIF‑2α inhibitor belzutifan have reported important results. LITESPARK‑011 (NCT04586231), conducted in the advanced disease setting, assessed belzutifan in combination with lenvatinib, while LITESPARK‑022 (NCT05239728) evaluated belzutifan with pembrolizumab in the high‑risk adjuvant setting.
“We are now well‑versed in managing the toxicities associated with immune checkpoint inhibitors and tyrosine kinase inhibitors; however, the introduction of belzutifan brings a distinct toxicity profile, and we will need to become familiar with monitoring and managing treatment‑related hypoxia and anaemia. I envisage pharmacists having a crucial role in the advising on the managing of these toxicities and potential de-escalation of these combination therapies,” added Matthews.
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