Drug classes

Pharmacists encouraged to report GLP-1 side effects amid pharmacogenomics study

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency has called on healthcare professionals to submit Yellow Card reports on behalf of patients who develop acute pancreatitis while using GLP-1 receptor agonists.…

NICE recommends weekly injection for severe haemophilia B

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence said that marstacimab is a cost-effective treatment option for severe haemophilia B but not for severe haemophilia A.…

Pharmacy bodies warn that demand for weight-loss drug will outstrip supply

Around 220,000 patients could be prescribed Mounjaro in the first three years of the drug's availability to NHS patients in England, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has estimated.…

People with sickle cell disease face racism and ‘sub-standard care’, finds report

A report commissioned by the NHS Race and Health Observatory recommends that more sickle cell training for healthcare professionals, including primary care, is needed.…

UK would struggle with emergency response to antimicrobial infection epidemic, MPs warn

The House of Commons Public Accounts Committee also said that inappropriate prescribing of antibiotics in primary care is “too high”, with an estimated 20% of antibiotic prescriptions deemed unnecessary.…

Case-based learning: understanding and managing levetiracetam-induced psychiatric symptoms

This article highlights the psychiatric adverse effects of levetiracetam, emphasising the importance of recognising these effects rather than attributing them to an organic diagnosis.…

MHRA publishes ‘world first’ decentralised manufacturing guidance

The guidance will inform the manufacture of medicines with a short shelf-life or highly personalised medicines at sites within or in close proximity to hospitals.…

NICE recommends mirikizumab as a treatment option for Crohn’s disease

Mirikizumab (Omvoh; Eli Lilly), which is already licensed to treat ulcerative colitis but at a lower dose, is now recommended for the treatment of moderately to severely active Crohn's disease.…

Grasping new opportunities to work in partnership with the pharmaceutical industry

The development of a pharmacy-led maintenance and reliever therapy programme has shown success in Leeds, where there are high numbers of people with unmanaged asthma.…

UK issues first guideline on post-exposure prophylaxis for syphilis

The British Association for Sexual Health and HIV has highlighted research that shows how doxycycline post-exposure prophylaxis reduces syphilis cases by 80%.…