PJ November 2025, Vol 316, No 8003

Government secures additional PERT supply until the end of 2025 

In response to a written question to the Department of Health and Social Care, Zubir Ahmed, parliamentary under-secretary of state, said that the department has been in contact with specialist importers of unlicensed pancreatic enzyme replacement therapy stock to cover “the remaining gap in the ma…

Antibiotics for back pain — a viable treatment option or pathway to antimicrobial resistance?

In 2013, research findings suggested that antibiotics could treat chronic back pain, but these claims were disputed in the scientific community. Now companies are offering this treatment privately. Here, we investigate the contentious world of back pain treatment.…

Assisted dying drugs ‘would not be considered medicines when used to facilitate suicide’, Lords told

The House of Lords Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill Committee was also told that any substances used in assisted dying would undergo “rigorous assessment”.…

New HIV diagnoses fall by almost 20% in one year

Public Health Wales data show that the number of new HIV cases fell to 73 in 2024, from 91 confirmed cases in 2023.…

The role of pharmacy in delivering the NHS ten-year health plan

Attendees at a roundtable hosted by The Pharmaceutical Journal agreed that effective horizon scanning is needed to establish what the pressures on the health service would be in a decade’s time and the need for pharmacy organisations to work together to help shape the future.…

Half of pharmacists say they support assisted dying

Exclusive: Results from a survey conducted by The Pharmaceutical Journal have revealed that 54% of pharmacists said they supported assisted dying in principle.…

Extra funding announced for community pharmacy independent prescribing

Scottish community pharmacies that employ an independent prescribing pharmacist will also be able to claim for Pharmacy First Plus services without meeting the 25 hours per week availability threshold.…

MHRA sets out plans to speed up access to rare disease therapies

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency said “the rulebook for rare disease therapies will be overhauled" to make it quicker and easier to get therapies tested and approved.…

World Pharmacists Day as catalyst for building a community of practice for pharmacy professionals working in central government organisations

World Pharmacists Day (WPD) offers an opportunity to reflect on the brilliant work of pharmacists globally and allows colleagues to highlight unity in their work for safer patient outcomes.  For WPD 2024, Anna Wilkinson, Jackie Lamberty, Shilan Ghafoor and Diane Ashiru-Oredope, pharmacists a…

RPS launches its first wellbeing surveys focusing on students and early-career pharmacists

The Royal Pharmaceutical Society said the surveys are aimed to provide insight into current wellbeing, study and workplace experiences to shape resources, services and advocacy.…