Corrinne Burns

Royal Pharmaceutical Society Correspondent

Corrinne Burns is Royal Pharmaceutical Society Correspondent at The Pharmaceutical Journal.

Alzheimer’s treatment lecanemab too costly for NHS, says NICE draft guidance

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has determined that the small benefit that lecanemab provides patients in the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease does not justify the cost to the NHS.…

Deaths related to drug misuse in Scotland rose by almost 12% in 2023

The National Records of Scotland data show that opioids were implicated in 80% of the misuse-related deaths in 2023.…

Registration assessment will be held online until at least 2029, says GPhC

The regulator said it was undertaking a procurement process “to provide certainty in relation to delivering the registration assessment” while it considers its future.…

Pharmacy Schools Council warns of academic staff shortage amid ‘uncontrolled increase’ in MPharm courses

A statement from the Pharmacy Schools Council warns that heads of school are under pressure to manage with a smaller staff base or recruit at a lower grade.…

Pharmacy bodies call for action to ensure access to designated prescribing practitioners

A joint report by the Royal Pharmaceutical Society and National Pharmacy Association encourages pharmacies to work together to assess their readiness to provide a prescribing learning environment.…

One in ten people with chronic pain could experience opioid dependence, suggest study results

The pooled prevalence of dependence and opioid use disorder was 9.3% across 148 studies, but the researchers say high heterogeneity means the results should be “interpreted with caution”.…

NICE approves osteoporosis treatment that could benefit 14,000 people at high risk of fracture

Abaloparatide will provide an alternative for women after menopause who have not responded to, or cannot tolerate, usual treatment options.…

One-year route to registration for overseas qualified pharmacists proposed by regulator

The registration route would initially apply to non-European Economic Area and non-European Free Trade Association qualified pharmacists.…

Almost one-third of people on low-calorie diet programme in remission from type 2 diabetes mellitus, study results show

Since its nationwide roll-out in May 2024, NHS England says more than 25,000 people have been referred to take part in the ‘Type 2 diabetes path to remission programme’.…

NHS to commission 50 pharmacies to offer RSV vaccinations from September 2024

NHS England will commission 25 pharmacy contractors in NHS Mid and South Essex Integrated Care Board (ICB) and a further 25 in NHS North East Essex ICB to provide the RSV community pharmacy pathfinder service.…