Anna Sayburn

Freelance journalist

Potential for additional 6,000 heart attacks and strokes owing to COVID-19 pandemic, researchers estimate

Prescriptions of antihypertensives dropped sharply from March 2020, which could result in an additional 2,300 heart attacks and 3,500 strokes.…

LloydsPharmacy announces withdrawal from more than 200 Sainsbury’s supermarkets

After undertaking a review of its operations “in response to changing market conditions”, the pharmacy multiple said it would withdraw pharmacy services from all Sainsbury's stores over the course of 2023.…

Repeated use of antibiotics increases inflammatory bowel disease risk, study suggests

Patients aged 40 to 60 years who had been prescribed antibiotics showed the highest risk for inflammatory bowel disease.…

Automated device linked with better glycaemic control in type 2 diabetes patients

In a small trial, participants spent more time in the target glucose zone when using the fully automated system than when on standard insulin therapy.…

Shortage of cold and flu medicines increases pressure on pharmacies

Community pharmacists are claiming the current medicine supply system is broken, as price concessions reach record levels.…

Pharmacy vaccination advice scheme sees more than 800 patients choose to be vaccinated against COVID-19

Pharmacies in Tower Hamlets, East London, provided more than 1,800 consultations on COVID-19 vaccination, with 831 people then deciding to get vaccinated.…

Two antivirals added to list of drugs that cannot be exported or hoarded

The government added the antiviral drugs oseltamivir and zanamivir, used to treat flu, to the list on 20 December 2022.…

Competition regulator investigates ‘real concerns’ over antibiotic overpricing

The Competition and Markets Authority is looking into the pricing of antibiotics as cases of Strep A infection rise.…

Cancer vaccine combined with monoclonal antibody cuts risk of death or recurrence of melanoma by almost 50%, show phase II trial data

Experts say the data are exciting, but warn larger trials are needed in other cancer types.…

New drug slows development of most common type of breast cancer, trial shows

Capivasertib in combination with hormone therapy was found to increase progression-free survival for patients with breast cancer.…