Graham Clews

News and Views Editor

Graham Clews is News and Views Editor at The Pharmaceutical Journal.

Pharmacy technicians may prepare and dispense medicines without supervision under government proposals

The Department of Health and Social Care said the proposals were “not a move towards allowing pharmacists to remotely supervise a community pharmacy”.…

Life cycle adjustment left out of statutory scheme on pricing of NHS medicines

The government will not apply a life cycle adjustment mechanism to levies on branded drugs sold to the NHS under the statutory scheme.…

Autumn registration assessment pass rate rises to 66%

The 66% overall 2023 pass rate is the second highest of the past five years of the autumn registration assessment.…

European regulator’s committee recommends new safety measures for medicines containing pseudoephedrine

The European Medicines Agency's risk assessment committee has recommended that medicines containing pseudoephedrine should not be used in patients with severe or uncontrolled high blood pressure, or people with severe acute or chronic kidney disease or failure.…

Pharmacy negotiator warns chancellor of effect of National Living Wage on community pharmacies

Jeremy Hunt announced in the autumn statement that the National Living Wage would increase from £10.42 to £11.44 per hour from April 2024.…

Competition regulator investigates Pharmacy2U purchase of LloydsDirect

The Competition and Markets Authority is investigating the acquisition of LloydsDirect by Pharmacy2U while it considers whether the merger could lead to "a substantial lessening of competition" in markets in the UK.…

PrEP highly effective in cutting HIV transmission but better access needed, study finds

Results of the 'PrEP Impact' trial show that PrEP reduced the chances of someone getting HIV by around 87%.…

NHS England publishes guidance on how pharmacists could work across sectors

Optional guidance from NHS England sets out workforce models in which pharmacists could work for multiple organisations across community pharmacy, primary care networks and hospital trusts.…

MHRA warns of dangers of fake weight loss pens after Yellow Card reports

The medicines regulator said Ozempic and Saxenda pens have been confirmed as being falsified with insulin in five of the reports.…

Community pharmacy network could cease to exist without funding overhaul, MPs warned

Pharmacy representatives have warned a government inquiry into pharmacy that a lack of core funding will slowly erode community pharmacy businesses.…