News summary
Fixed prices or competitive
tendering: latest options for generic medicines Following a
fundamental review lasting almost two years, the Department of Health
is putting forward two options for achieving greater control over the
market for generic medicines...[more]
Boots to supply all health products for Sainsbury
Boots is to supply the entire health, beauty and pharmacy
product range for six out-of-town superstores run by Sainsbury’s.
If the year-long trial, starting in the new year, is successful, it could
lead to a much larger arrangement between the two companies...[more]
Irish war of words over plans to curb paracetamol
sales A war of words has broken out between independent retailers
and pharmacists in the Irish Republic over plans to restrict sales of
paracetamol products...[more]
Sales slump after post-RPM peak Sales
of over-the-counter medicines, which rose sharply after supermarkets cut
prices when resale price maintenance came to an end have slumped to below
the level that existed before price controls were removed...[more]
Boots ends its joint venture in Japan The
Boots Co Plc has terminated its Japanese health and beauty store joint
venture with the Mitsubishi Corp...[more]
Report of linezolid-resistant S aureus The
first report of resistance to linezolid (Zyvox) in Staphylococcus aureus
has been published in a research letter to The Lancet (2001;358:207)...[more]
Advisory committee on antibiotic resistance formed
The Department of Health has set up a new independent advisory
committee on antimicrobial resistance...[more]
TNF-a blockers an advance but should be reserved
for severe RA Tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-a) blockers
should be reserved for patients with severe, highly active rheumatoid
arthritis that is unresponsive to at least two other disease modifying
drugs, including methotrexate, according to the Drug and Therapeutics
Bulletin...[more]
Nurses to prescribe 167 more POMs Trained
nurses are to be allowed to prescribe from a list of 167 prescription
medicines, under a proposal from the Medicines Control Agency. If accepted,
the change is expected to be implemented by the end of the year...[more]
Sildenafil shows some promise for the treatment
of pulmonary hypertension Sildenafil (Viagra) could be used
to treat pulmonary hypertension caused by hypoxia, say researchers from
Hammersmith Hospital, London...[more]
New malaria prophylaxis guidelines welcomed The
publication of new guidelines concerning malaria prophylaxis (PJ,
21 July) has been welcomed by Dr Larry Goodyer, head of pharmacy practice
at King’s College, London, and superintendent of Nomad Travel Pharmacy...[more]
Benefits of IM olanzapine shown An
intramuscular (IM) formulation of the atypical antipsychotic olanzapine
could soon be an option for the treatment of acute mania in schizophrenia...[more]
Anticoagulant drugs delay rather than reduce
the risk of recurrence of DVT Using anticoagulants for longer
than three months to treat idiopathic deep vein thrombosis (DVT) delays
recurrence rather than reduces the risk of recurrence, Italian researchers
say...[more]
American guidance on HRT use in women with heart
disease issued The American Heart Association has issued guidance
on the use of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) in women with cardiovascular
disease...[more]
Margarine-rich diet linked to asthma A
diet rich in polyunsaturated fats is associated with a rise in the incidence
of asthma in pre-school children, a study has shown...[more]
Student presidents celebrate their pharmacy’s
success in Stirling As newly qualified pharmacists Noel Wicks
and Jonathan Burton, the two immediate past-presidents of the British
Pharmaceutical Students Association, took over Campus Pharmacy at the
University of Stirling a year ago...[more]
New NHS structure proposed for Wales A
new structure for the National Health Service in Wales, intended to simplify
its organisation and to make it more accountable, has been put forward
by the Welsh Minister for Health and Social Services Jane Hutt...[more]
Europe to allow DTC advertising The
European Commission has decided that it is appropriate to abandon the
strict prohibition on direct to consumer advertising of prescription medicines.
It has taken this decision because people want more information on medicines...[more]
Cancer survival cut because side effects are
not treated Almost one in three cancer patients in Britain
have their chances of surviving the disease cut because specialists reduce
their chemotherapy dosage when white blood cell counts fall, rather than
give a growth factor that stimulates production of white blood cells...[more]
Pharmacist research assessors wanted Pharmacists
are being invited to become assessors under a Royal College of General
Practitioners scheme to measure the quality of primary care research undertaken
in general practice...[more]
NEWS IN BRIEF
Phoenix profits up Phoenix Pharmahandel,
the parent company of Phoenix Medical Supplies and Phoenix Pharmacy, reported
a 17 per cent increase in profits for the year to 31 January 2001. Profits
of £24.77m were made on a total turnover of £2.51bn. The company
did not release figures for performance in individual countries other
than its home market of Germany where profits rose 42 per cent.
EAP family buyout Jonathan and Gregory
Briggs have taken full control of East Anglian Pharmaceuticals Ltd, the
Norwich based wholesaler in which they previously owned a 50 per cent
share. The company has sold its six pharmacies to finance the deal and
will be spending £500,000 on automated picking equipment. EAP is
the country’s second largest independent wholesaler and delivers
to East Anglia, Lincolnshire and London.
Oxygen for severe asthma Severe or
life threatening asthma attacks should be treated by using b2-agonists
nebulised with oxygen, an education paper published in the British Medical
Journal (2001:323:98) recommends. In addition, it advises that oxygen
should be the standard treatment given to any patient with acute severe
asthma, wherever the patient happens to be.
The authors of the paper say that treatment of mild and moderate asthma
attacks should continue as at present using air-driven nebulisers or metered
dose inhalers.
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