Generic medicines

Generic shortages: what can be done?

The supply of generic medicines is vulnerable to the vicissitudes of market forces, with exchange rates fluctuating and manufacturers restricting distribution. The Department of Health needs to intervene to shield pharmacies from the impact of price spikes and ensure the resilience of the …

Boots bows to pressure to sell cheaper morning after pill

High street pharmacy chain Boots announces it will sell a cheaper version of the morning after pill but issues BPAS with legal warning over its campaign.…

MHRA advises health professionals on supply of clobazam for epilepsy

An epilepsy charity has updated its advice for health professionals on the supply of clobazam for people with epilepsy.…

PSNC tells contractors to ‘exert maximum pressure on wholesalers’ to drive down price of pregabalin

Contractors struggling to source pregabalin at list price since restrictions placed by NHS England limiting the use of generic pregabalin were lifted have been told by the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee to “exert maximum pressure on wholesalers” to drive down its price.…

NPA produces identification checker for insulin dispensing

The National Pharmacy Association has produced a series of tables to help pharmacists and staff select the correct insulin when dispensing against generic prescriptions.…

Market competition a predictor of changes in generic drug prices, concludes US study

A decrease in market competition is strongly associated with an increase in the price of generic drugs, according to research published in the Annals of Internal Medicine.…

Design for dispensing: how far can we go to make packaging safer?

It is a decade since the National Patient Safety Agency issued guidance on medicines packaging design in a bid to reduce the risk of dispensing errors. But medicines that sound alike or look alike are still responsible for a large proportion of errors. A collaborative approach between manufacturers,…

New legislation passed to prevent excessive price hiking of generic drugs

A new law which aims to bring tougher price control to unbranded generic drugs received Royal Assent in the House of Commons on 27 April 2017.…

NHS report promises ‘over 1,300’ pharmacists in GP surgeries by 2019

More than 800 additional clinical pharmacists could be working in GP surgeries within the next two years, according to plans announced on 31 March 2017 by Simon Stevens, chief executive of NHS England.…

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…