Neurological conditions

Pfizer and Flynn Pharma fined £69m for ‘excessive’ pricing of epilepsy drug

The Competition Appeal Tribunal has upheld the Competition and Markets Authority's 2016 decision that Pfizer and its distributor Flynn “were gouging the market” when the pricing of phenytoin sodium capsules resulted in costs to the NHS increasing from £2m in 2012 to around £50m in 2013.…

Everything you need to know about NICE’s decisions on ‘game-changing’ Alzheimer’s drugs

In August and October 2024, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence issued a decision not to recommend two new drugs for Alzheimer’s disease that experts had previously welcomed for their disease-modifying effects. We explain the reasons behind their decisions.…

Migraine: pathophysiology, recognition and management

An overview of the pathophysiology, diagnostic criteria and licensed and emerging treatment options for the management of migraine.…

‘Every minute counts’: taking a national approach to time-critical medicines

Despite various initiatives to tackle the problem, safety incidents linked to the late administration of medicines, or medicines that have been omitted entirely, have remained stubbornly high for decades. A national focus may finally deliver a solution.…

NICE rejects second Alzheimer’s disease treatment for NHS use

Clinical trial evidence reveals that there are “significant health risks” linked to donanemab, with a third of patients experiencing amyloid-related imaging abnormalities as a result of brain swelling and bleeding.…

Men taking valproate advised by MHRA to use effective contraception

The regulator advises that males and their partners should use effective contraception during, and for at least three months after, valproate treatment.…

Alzheimer’s treatment lecanemab too costly for NHS, says NICE draft guidance

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has determined that the small benefit that lecanemab provides patients in the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease does not justify the cost to the NHS.…

More than 2,000 patients tested in UK’s first routine genotyping project for clopidogrel prescribing

Exclusive: The genotyping project at NHS Tayside identified 2,300 patients, 29% of whom emerged as ‘poor’ or ‘intermediate’ CYP2C19-clopidogrel metabolisers.…

Lessons from testing 2,300 patients at the UK’s first CYP2C19 genotyping system 

Specialist clinical pharmacist Alex Matos explains what his team has learned in the two years since setting up the NHS Tayside project to genotype acute stroke patients with an indication for clopidogrel.…

Changes in migraine treatment: how new classes of drugs can provide additional options for patients and prescribers

This episode of The PJ Pod looks at recent changes to National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidance on the treatment of acute and chronic migraine and what pharmacists should expect from the new class of gepant drugs.…