Drug manufacturing

How drug prices are hiked and what is being done to tackle the problem

There has been negative publicity in the national press about drug manufacturers increasing the price of some medicines significantly: so called ‘price gouging’. These increased prices are then passed on to the NHS, and lead to headlines quoting multi-million pound figures.…

Manufacturers should evaluate quality control methods for vaccines

I read with interest your news story ‘Researchers find metal impurities in vaccines, but European regulator challenges study’ ( The Pharmaceutical Journal 2017;298:76). Manufacturers have an interest and an obligation to produce all drugs, including vaccines, as contami…

EMA calls for suspension of generic drugs after concerns about quality of data

A list of generic drugs — including 41 that are available in the UK — have been recommended for suspension across the EU because of doubts over the quality of the bioequivalence data used to grant their national marketing authorisation.  The European Medicines Agency, the EU&r…

The EpiPen pricing gouging saga is the latest example of market failure

The most recent example of pharmaceutical price gouging in the United States to catch public attention involves the EpiPen (adrenaline/epinephrine), a widely used injectable pen that can be life saving for those with severe allergic reactions to certain substances. The price of this device has…

Counterfeit medicines are a growing threat to global health, WHO meeting hears

Substandard and counterfeit medicines pose a growing threat to global health and greater global efforts are needed to counter the problem, experts have warned at an international forum.  …

Advanced therapy medicinal products present challenges for pharmacists

Few pharmacists have experience handling advanced therapy medicinal products (ATMPs) — medicines based on genes, cells or tissue engineering — but the field is likely to grow and presents special challenges for pharmacists.…

Compact machine produces drugs “on demand”

Researchers have developed a machine the size of a refrigerator that can synthesise multiple drugs from start to finish, reporting details of their work in Science.…

FDA announces sweeping review of policies related to opioid drugs

The US Food and Drug Administration has launched a review into its policies involving opioid drugs, prompted by figures showing that overdose from an opioid drug is now the leading cause of death by injury in the United States.…

Miniaturised drug production has role to play in emergencies, conference hears

Methods for small scale, point-of-use manufacture of drugs have now reached an advanced stage, delegates heard at the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists ‘midyear clinical meeting’ in New Orleans, Louisiana.…

Every stage of the UK government’s response to Ebola epidemic was delayed, MPs report

Every stage of the UK’s response to the Ebola epidemic was undermined by systemic delays, according to a report written by MPs, following an inquiry into the country’s ability to deal with disease emergencies.…