PJ, December 2023, Vol 311, No 7980

Top ten articles of 2023 from the Royal Pharmaceutical Society’s research journals

As 2023 draws to a close, we look back at the highlights from our research journals over the past 12 months.…

Cancer symptom card scheme launched across community pharmacies

Exclusive: The ‘Not normal for you?’ scheme will be rolled out across more than 1,000 community pharmacies in the UK, aimed to overcome barriers for people to see their GP.…

Patient hospitalised owing to incorrect dosing advice when switching insulin products

A national patient safety alert said patients had been incorrectly advised on the number of units to administer from Tresiba pre-filled insulin injection pens.…

EMA publishes first list of “critical medicines” to avoid potential shortages

A list of more than 200 active substances considered critical for healthcare systems across the EU has been published by the European Medicines Agency.…

PJ view: Transparency in the science behind government policy is vital

Questions have been raised about whether the government was right to rush a deal to provide inclisiran on the NHS without data to substantiate claims about its effectiveness.…

Fewer than 5,000 people prescribed anticholesterol drug inclisiran in primary care as of July 2023

Exclusive: Despite NHS England’s target for 300,000 patients to be using inclisiran by October 2024, 4,549 people had been prescribed it in primary care between October 2021 and July 2023.…

Inclisiran: the ‘extremely unusual’ political influence behind the novel drug’s approval

A year-long investigation by The Pharmaceutical Journal has raised questions over the influence of the UK government and NHS England on the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s approval of cholesterol-lowering drug inclisiran.…

Community pharmacy expected to play ‘greater role’ in delivering vaccines under new strategy  

NHS England’s vaccination strategy delegates responsibility for commissioning vaccination services from NHS England to integrated care boards by April 2025.…

Smoking cessation medicine cytisine to be available in January 2024, distributor confirms

Exclusive: Cytisine was approved for use in the UK by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency in March 2019, but no supplies have been previously available.…

Case-based learning: testosterone deficiency

How pharmacy teams can provide appropriate advice to men presenting with cases of suspected testosterone deficiency.…