PJ, 13 June 2015, Vol 294, No 7866

Pfizer apologises for Lyrica but presses ahead with patent protection strategy

Pfizer has apologised to pharmacists and GPs over any extra work or confusion caused by its attempts to protect the second medical use patent of its product Lyrica.…

Next generation of pharmacists ‘must embed research into practice’

RPS president says pharmacists of the future will need more evidence to show their practice is effective.…

Local practice forum events: 17–25 June 2015

Wednesday 17 June 2015: South Yorkshire  Local practice forum event, ‘Optimising inhaler technique’. Holiday Inn, West Bawtry Road, Rotherham S60 2XL. Event 7.30–9pm, buffet 6.45pm. Book via sec2015@srblpf.org.uk. Thursday 25 June 2015: London North …

Donald Davison dies

On 24 May 2015, Donald Davison FRPharmS, aged 92, of Haslemere, Surrey. Mr Davison registered with the Society in 1944 and became a Fellow in 1992. Mr Davison was elected president of the Co-operative Superintendent Chemists Association in 1980 and served as the Co-operative…

Call to rethink sector-specific seats on RPS boards following lack of candidates

RPS treasurer Sultan Dajani suggests some sector-specific places could be scrapped after shortage of candidates.…

How a pharmacy student built a global company

Charles Ebubedike conceived the idea for a pharmaceutical company together with classmates on his pharmacy degree course. He tells Stephen Robinson how they developed the company into an international business.…

Modified herpes virus therapy shows promise in melanoma

A virus-derived oncolytic immunotherapy has shown activity against melanoma in a phase III clinical trial, researchers report in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.…

Welsh pharmacies offer Parkinson’s MURs in awareness campaign

Patients with Parkinson’s disease offered medicines advice and support at pharmacies in Wales.…

Obesity: current and emerging drug treatments

The prevalence of obesity has doubled worldwide since 1980, but a range of new treatments are being introduced to help patients lose weight.…

Painkiller use is more closely linked to homicide than antipsychotics or antidepressants

There is a closer association between use of painkillers and homicide than there is between the use of antipsychotics or antidepressants and killing someone, research shows.…