Switching to biosimilar and generic medicines saved the NHS over £300m in a year NHS England saved £324m in 2017/2018 by switching from using ten “expensive” medicines to “better value and equally effective” alternatives, mainly generic and biosimilar medicines, NHS Improvement has revealed.…
CMA opens six new investigations into anticompetitive drug pricing The Pharmaceutical Journal has learned that the Competitions and Market Authority opened six new investigations in October 2017 at the height of the crisis in the generics market that hit community pharmacy hard.…
Dupilumab helps severe asthma patients cut glucocorticoid use Research has shown dupilumab reduces glucocorticoid use by more than 70% and the number of severe asthma exacerbations by almost 60%.…
Solution to generics shortages and price spikes yet to be found, MPs hear Sharp price increases and supply shortages of some drugs may continue to leave pharmacy owners struggling to provide supplies to patients.…
Cannabidiol reduces seizure rate in rare form of epilepsy Cannabidiol reduces the risk of drop seizures in people with Lennox-Gastaut syndrome, a rare, severe form of epilepsy, according to the results of a recent study…
Tackling antibiotic resistance an NHS success, finds major report on developed countries’ health services The UK is one of the few countries where antibiotic resistance has fallen in recent years, according to an investigative report.…
Should community pharmacy stock homeopathic remedies? Two pharmacists argue whether homeopathic remedies should be available to buy in community pharmacies after the High Court’s support for the decision to stop funding homeopathy on the NHS.…
Government released drugs from central stockpile to deal with generics price hikes, NAO finds A National Audit Office report has revealed the government released supplies of a medicine from a central stockpile to deal with the increased cost of generic medicines.…
Homeopathy legal challenge fails A legal attempt to overturn NHS England’s decision to reduce NHS prescribing of homeopathic products has failed.…
DPP-4 inhibitors have no mortality benefit in type 2 diabetes, analysis shows Dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP-4) inhibitors do not lower death rates in patients with type 2 diabetes, an analysis comparing them with other common treatments has shown.…