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Government should publish national strategy to tackle medicines shortages, says RPS

In ‘Medicines shortages policy: solutions for empty shelves’, published on 26 November 2024, the Society makes 20 recommendations to alleviate ongoing medicines shortages in the UK.…

PJ view: Reshoring medicine manufacturing must be considered as an option for managing shortages

With the number of medicine shortages on the rise, the UK government and pharmaceutical industry must review the idea of reshoring supply chains to minimise the impact on patients.…

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.…

Chief pharmaceutical officers say it is ‘entirely reasonable’ for pharmacists to take position on assisted dying bill

A joint statement warned that the outcome of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill must not undermine provision of good end-of-life care and work by palliative care clinicians.…

Bruce Warner: ‘Medicines shortages will never go away, but the situation can be improved’

The chair of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society’s advisory group on medicines shortages discusses the causes of medicines shortages and how the issue can be improved.…

Weight loss drugs make up ‘very small’ proportion of illegal medicines trade in UK, says MHRA

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency highlighted that illegal weight loss medicines aren't a “substantial challenge” as the agency has made “900 or so seizures” of trafficked weight loss injections.…

NICE may be ‘systematically undervaluing’ medicines for severe conditions, says ABPI

The Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry is urging the government and National Institute for Health and Care Excellence to “show greater flexibility when assessing medicines for severe conditions”.…

Nominate an outstanding early-career pharmacy researcher for OPERA 2025

Nominations for OPERA 2025 are open until 31 January 2025.…

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.…

Pharmacy owners vote to reduce services in protest against funding levels

In a ballot of National Pharmacy Association members, 98% of those representing pharmacies in England expressed a willingness to close outside the minimum hours required by their contract.…