• Lloyds offers food intolerance tests
• Back to the floor for Lloyds managers
• Novartis plans five new product launches in 2001
• Historical pharmacy for sale
• British Biotech puts down marimastat
• December retail sales
• Unichem takes stake in Enigma Health

Lloyds offers food intolerance tests

Lloyds Pharmacy Ltd is offering its customers a food intolerance testing service which will allow them to change their diets to avoid foods they might be allergic to.

Two types of test service are available. A 40-food screen tests groups of foods, such as citrus fruits, for reactions and provides results for the most commonly eaten foods. A 93-food screen offers more precise measurements for individual foods. The 40-food screen costs £99 and the 93-food screen £245.

The food testing is undertaken by York Nutritional Laboratory Ltd. Customers who order the test through Lloyds are sent a pack containing a sterile lancet and a blood sample container, together with instructions for use and a return envelope. A 50ml blood sample is tested by York Nutritional using enzyme-linked immunosorbant assay to detect immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies. Within 14 days of returning their blood sample, customers receive a written report of the test results, a food sensitivity guidebook and a year's membership of the British Allergy Foundation. They are also able to have a 20-minute telephone conversation with a nutrition consultant.

The test results are graded as "no reaction", "rotate" (where limited intake of that food is advised) and "avoid". Those foods with the most severe or "avoid" IgG reactions are further graded on a scale of 1 to 4 (the worst). Customers are advised to avoid these foods initially. They may find it possible later to reintroduce them to their diets, starting with the lowest ranked items.

Food intolerance has been associated with chronic illnesses such as asthma, eczema, migraine and irritable bowel syndrome. A survey of York Nutritional's previous customers found that around 40 per cent reported some benefit from changing their diet as a result of being tested.

Mr John Gregory (professional services marketing manager, Lloyds) told The Journal on February 15 that leaflets advertising the service were now available in all 1,300 Lloyds Pharmacy branches. Lloyds had been attracted to offering the service by the level of support which was available to customers after testing. In future, Lloyds was thinking of offering a service where its pharmacists would take and send off the blood samples and give advice on the results. This would happen after staff had received further training on nutrition. The service would be advertised directly to customers and general medical practitioners later in the year.

Diagnostic testing Lloyds Pharmacy has taken an increased number of bookings for its health heart check service following a St Valentine's day promotional campaign, run in association with the British Cardiac Patients Association. The service, which costs £20, includes blood pressure and cholesterol measurements and lifestyle evaluations.

Lloyds has also run staff training sessions, in association with the four main manufacturers of blood glucose meters, which will allow staff to run calibration checks on customers' meters. A number of in-store events are planned once training is completed.

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Back to the floor for Lloyds managers

Directors and senior managers at Lloyds Pharmacy have gone back to the shop floor as part of an initiative to raise money for the National Deaf Children's Society. Each of Lloyds's 1,300 branches donated £5 sponsorship for a group of employees who are taking part in a cycle ride in Cuba. In return, the stores were entered into a draw to receive the services of one of 63 senior managers from Lloyds, AAH Pharmaceuticals Ltd or GEHE UK to work in their store in the role of the most junior member of staff.

Mr Andrew Murdock (director of pharmacy, Lloyds) said that all those involved had drawn something positive from the experience, which had allowed them to meet members of the organisation they might not otherwise have met.

Baby awareness Lloyds Pharmacy branches in Staffordshire and south Cheshire held baby and pregnancy awareness days during January. New parents were able to get advice from midwives and health visitors as well as from the stores' own baby advisers. Car safety and the use of alternative medicines were also covered. Lloyds said that the days would be repeated in the summer.

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Novartis plans five new product launches in 2001

Novartis AG is planning to launch five new products in the next 12 months. All of them should be available in the United Kingdom subject to gaining regulatory approval.

Speaking at a press conference in Basle, Switzerland, on February 15, Mr Daniel Vasella (president, Novartis) said that spending on sales and marketing would be increased by SFr1bn (£407m) during 2001 to support the new products.

Four products are expected to be available in mid-to-late 2001. They are Zometa (zoledronate), a bisphosphonate for postmenopausal osteoporosis; Zelmac (tegaserod), a 5-HT₄ agonist for irritable bowel syndrome; Starlix (nateglinide), an insulinotropic agent for type-2 diabetes; and Xolair (omalizumab), an anti-IgE monoclonal antibody for severe asthma.

The fifth product, Glivec (imatinib, STI571), a tyrosin kinase inhibitor for acute lymphoid leukaemia and chronic myeloid leukaemia, may be launched in the UK in late 2001 or early 2002. Glivec was recently proposed as part of the National Institute for Clinical Excellence's fifth work programme (PJ, February 10, p177).

Also on February 15, Novartis announced a 7 per cent increase in pre-tax profits for the year to December 31, 2000, with profits rising from SFr8.5bn to SFr9.1bn. Total group sales rose by 10 per cent to SFr35.8bn.

The company's pharmaceuticals division reported operating profits of SFr5.4bn on sales of SFr17.6bn, a 16 per cent increase in profits. However, profits in the generics division fell by 35 per cent to SFr227m on sales of SFr1.9bn.

Novartis's best-selling pharmaceutical was Sandimmun/Neoral (ciclosporin) with sales of SFr2.1bn, down 5 per cent. Sales of Diovan (valsartan) rose by 55 per cent during the year, reaching SFr1.2bn.

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Historical pharmacy for sale

A pharmacy which has served the people of the Cumbrian market town of Ulverston for more than 250 years is currently up for sale. Mr Ashley Hewitt, the present owner of the pharmacy, told The Journal on February 14 that the business had been founded in 1750. The building, at 10 Market Place, was Grade II listed.

Mr Hewitt said: "My father, John Hewitt, bought the business in 1956. I took over from him in 1970." Mr Hewitt added that he was part-owner, with Boots the Chemists Ltd, of a health centre pharmacy in the town.

Mr Hewitt said that for a variety of reasons he had decided to sell both the Market Place pharmacy and his share in the health centre. He was intending to continue working as a locum in the area.

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British Biotech puts down marimastat

British Biotech Plc has finally discontinued development of marimastat, an oral matrix metalloproteinase inhibitor which has been at the centre of the company's turbulent history, after the drug failed to show any significant advantage over placebo in two phase III trials in small cell lung cancer.

The company announced on February 13 that, as a result, it was to concentrate its resources on a portfolio of six drugs and the development of novel antibiotics.

Early reports of marimastat's potential propelled the market value of British Biotech up to £1.9bn in 1996, but following failures in clinical trials and a public row with the company's former director of clinical research, Dr Andrew Millar, the shares slumped again. The company is now worth about £170m.

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December retail sales

The value of retail sales for December, 2000, under the classification of pharmaceutical sales, was up four points at 162. The value for the fourth quarter of 2000 was up four points at 138.

The classification of the retail sale of pharmaceutical, medical, cosmetic and toilet goods excludes National Health Service receipts. The figures are based on returns made by a number of large retail pharmacy chains, but exclude Boots the Chemists Ltd, which is classified under non-specialised retail stores. The figures are compiled by the Office for National Statistics.

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Unichem takes stake in Enigma Health

Unichem Ltd, the United Kingdom wholesaling subsidiary of Alliance Unichem Plc, has taken a 60 per cent stake in Enigma Health Ltd, a developer of pharmacy software.

Enigma Health has developed software which will allow patients to request repeat prescriptions from their general medical practitioners through pharmacies and to be able to monitor the progress of the request. Unichem will transfer its existing Mediphase pharmacy software business to Enigma Health.

Nucare Plc, a marketing services group for independent pharmacies, had a stake in Enigma which, before this deal, was 20 per cent.

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