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The Pharmaceutical Journal team were at the Pharmacy Show, held in Birmingham on 12–13 October 2025, reporting on community pharmacy services such as blood pressure checks — which have delivered 7 million consultations so far — and prescribing for minor ailments and long-term conditions. These services have shown promise in other UK nations but could struggle to get off the ground in England without more funding.
The Pharmaceutical Journal has continued its focus on pharmacist workforce in all settings, with data from our salary survey prompting the question: Are staff shortages compromising safe pharmacy care? We have also covered ongoing complaints against Jhoots and suggestions of regulating pharmacy business owners.
In medicines news — amid ongoing debates about NHS cost-effectiveness thresholds — the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) approved a new HIV prevention injection for use on the NHS for those who cannot use oral pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP). Read on for our weekly round-up of other health and medicines news you may have missed.
Potential new treatments for obesity aim to reduce reliance on GLP-1s
Sirona — a hydrogel pill for weight loss manufactured by Oxford Medical Products — could be available for UK patients from 2027, Camilla Easter, chief executive at Oxford Medical Products, has revealed. The dual-polymer hydrogel polymer expands in the stomach and is said to offer a cheaper, easier to tolerate, more easily available weight-loss option when compared with GLP1 medications.
The high cost of GLP-1s could be behind the 512% rise in demand for weight management services for adults, which is the largest percentage increase of any community service since 2022, a Nuffield Trust report has suggested. The fact that 44% of adults on the community waiting list are waiting for musculoskeletal services also raises concerns about services in the NHS not keeping up with the ageing and increasingly obese population, the report said.
A study based on UK biobank data, published in The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, suggests strong grip strength — a predictor of general muscle strength — may protect against obesity-related complications. In addition, GLP-1s could be effective in reducing alcohol use and abuse by slowing the speed that alcohol enters the bloodstream, which also slows the effects on the brain, according to a study published in Scientific Reports.
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Ageing, polypharmacy and palliative care
In terms of ageing, University of Surrey researchers have found that positive views on ageing were linked to a greater likelihood of engaging in vigorous activity.
In the United States, a study has suggested that benzodiazepines and antipsychotics in hospice residents with dementia “may sometimes be used as part of standard hospice care practices rather than fully tailored to each individual,” according to lead researcher Lauren B. Gerlach — leading to a risk of earlier death and calls to regularly reassess medication use. However, UK pharmacists involved in medication reviews may be disappointed to learn that the Health Innovation Network’s polypharmacy programme has come to an end, as continued funding could not be secured.
In addition, a Swansea University study has uncovered disparities in access to palliative care, with men, urban residents, people living alone and those in deprived communities being underrepresented on the palliative care register. It also found demand for urgent care increased sharply near death, and people who were registered for palliative care were discharged from urgent hospital settings at a faster rate and so experienced shorter emergency hospital stays than those who were not registered for palliative care.
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