Sophie Willis

Investigations editor

MHRA seized more than 2 million doses of illegal medicines in two-week period

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency said that more than half of the medicines seized during its operation were controlled drugs, while the rest were classified as prescription-only medicines.…

Coroner raises concern over prescribing errors following prison death

A prisoner at HMP Thameside died of cardiac arrest as a result of an epileptic seizure with the coroner stating that a “significant contributing factor” was “toxicity related to pregabalin and sodium valproate level in someone with epilepsy”.…

Pharmacies deliver almost 16,000 RSV vaccinations as programme found to cut newborn hospitalisations by up to 85%

Babies born at least four weeks after their mother received a respiratory syncytial virus vaccination had nearly 85% protection against the virus.…

Gabapentinoids found to increase risk of drug toxicity

Researchers found that patients taking gabapentinoids with benzodiazepines were at double the risk of being hospitalised with drug poisoning, while combining the drug with opioids has a 30% increase in risk.…

More than 550 patients seen under pharmacy cholesterol testing pilot

The pilot rolled out a seven-minute point-of-care cholesterol test across seven community pharmacies in north east London to estimate patients’ potential future risk of heart problems.…

Mounjaro approved for use in children in UK in ‘significant advance in paediatric care’

The approval marks the first time tirzepatide has been available for use in children in the UK.…

Manufacturer to warn of fatal adverse reactions from blood-clotting drug and anaesthetic mix-ups

A letter from Pfizer cautions healthcare professionals to use extreme caution when storing, handling and administrating IV formulations of tranexamic acid.…

‘Game-changing’ urine test could identify correct antibiotic for UTI within hours

The researchers found that the urine test could provide results in an average of 5.85 hours, while the current laboratory testing methods could take two to three days.…

Coroner highlights delays in pharmacies processing repeat prescriptions after patient death

The coroner noted that the patient’s consultant neurologist indicated that in some areas, pharmacies can take up to ten days to process prescriptions.…

COVID-19 vaccines not associated with sudden death in healthy young people

The researchers found no significant difference between the first, second and third dose of the COVID-19 vaccine in terms of increased risk of sudden cardiac death in healthy young patients.…