News summary
Research and development News
in brief
Counter fraud crackdown focuses on false "small pack" endorsements Counter
fraud investigators are cracking down on the small number of pharmacy
contractors who endorse prescriptions to say that several small packs
have been dispensed when one larger one was actually given to the patient.
At the same time, the reward scheme for detecting or preventing fraud
is to be relaunched...[more]
Minister is getting the message from pharmacy,
says NPA chairman Allowing pharmacy contractors to keep half
of last year's remuneration overspend may indicate that Hazel Blears,
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health, is getting the message
from dissatisfied pharmacists, the National Pharmaceutical Association's
chairman, Gerald Alexander, says...[more]
Moss boosts health promotion with NHS Scotland
money Moss Pharmacy is to use over £100,000 it has received
from the National Health Service in Scotland to increase its health promotion
activities at a branch in Dundee...[more]
Evaluation procedure established to reduce errors
linked to new drugs Pharmacists at Alder Hey Children's Hospital
in Liverpool have developed a system to assess the risks associated with
new drugs being used at the hospital...[more]
Giving medicines from patient lockers reduces
errors Pharmacists at the Wirral Hospitals NHS Trust have shown
that a re-engineered method for drug administration on hospital wards
leads to fewer medicine administration errors by nurses...[more]
Funding for joint training initiatives Joint
training programmes for undergraduates studying health care disciplines
will be developed over the next two years...[more]
Applicants drop but not student numbers Fewer
young people want to train as pharmacists, according to figures from the
Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS). Nevertheless, more
people are taking pharmacy places at United Kingdom pharmacy schools...[more]
Lottery money for drug information for the blind
Research into the medical information needs of older blind
people is to be funded by the National Lotteries Charities Board, now
known as the Community Fund...[more]
Formulation changes will not stop parallel importing
in Europe Parallel imports do not have to be withdrawn from
the market if manufacturers replace the original product with a slightly
different formulation, the European Court is expected to rule...[more]
Lifestyle advice needed to prevent increase in
type 2 diabetes in children Pharmacists are well placed to
offer advice on healthy lifestyles to prevent an increase in obesity among
adolescents, according to expert opinion...[more]
Genetic test could identify risk of hypersensitivity
to abacavir Patienrs at risk of a hypersensitivity reaction
to the antiretroviral drug abacavir (Ziagen) could be identified using
genetic testing, researchers suggest...[more]
Role for COX-2 in viral infection? Anti-inflammatory
drugs might be useful for treating human cytomegalovirus infection, researchers
say...[more]
Lack of money may delay automation A
warning that automation of hospital pharmacy services will be delayed
unless money is ear-marked for it has been issued by Helen Remington,
president of the Guild of Healthcare Pharmacists...[more]
International help for developing world's drug
needs An international organisation is to be set up later this
year to help the governments of developing countries negotiate better
deals for drugs and to help local researchers protect their ideas...[more]
Global action on drug resistance needed, health
economists warn No country acting alone can adequately protect
its population against rising antimicrobial resistance, researchers warn
in the latest issue of the Bulletin of the World Health Organization...[more]
Short-term effects only for cost cutting Cost-containment
measures for pharmaceuticals implemented by European governments are only
effective for two or three years, according to a study by the Austria
Health Institute. After this, new strategies and product launches push
costs up again...[more]
R & D
HIV agents show promise as anti-tumour compounds
Protease inhibitors used to treat human immunodeficiency virus
infection are promising anti-tumour and anti-angiogenic agents, new data
suggest...[more]
Response to appetite suppressant differs between
lean and obese mice An appetite suppressant under investigation
produces different responses in mice depending on whether they are lean
or obese...[more]
Tiotropium effective once-daily bronchodilator
Tiotropium is an effective, once-daily anticholinergic bronchodilator
in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, researchers from
California say...[more]
Conjugated vaccine provides partial immunity
to Staphylococcus aureus A conjugate vaccine in development,
StaphVAX, provides partial immunity to Staphylococcus aureus in
immunocompromised patients, a new study shows...[more]
Trial of new immunotherapeutic agent for Alzheimer's
suspended A phase IIa trial of a new immunotherapeutic agent,
AN-1792, to treat mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease has been suspended...[more]
Prodrug for cancer revealed in wine Researchers
from the school of pharmacy, De Montfort University, Leicester, have identified
how resveratrol, a natural product found in wine, is converted into a
related compound, piceatannol, which has known anticancer activity...[more]
Leptin replacement therapy stabilises glycaemia
in disordered fat metabolism Leptin replacement therapy in
patients with lipodystrophy improves glycaemic control, according to American
researchers...[more]
New approach to treating angina Researchers
in the United States have injected a growth factor gene, Ad5-FGF4, into
the hearts of patients with chronic stable angina pectoris and found it
to be a safe and effective treatment...[more]
NEWS IN BRIEF
GSK starts stock swaps
GLAXOSMITHKLINE has started a stock swap
service as part of its +Plus trading programme. Pharmacies will be allowed
to make up to five swaps per pharmacy per year up to the value of £100
per swap. Out-of-date stock can be exchanged for either the same product
or for an equivalent amount of Amoxil (amoxicillin) 250mg 21-capsule packs.
(uk.gsk.com)
New safety review
for Zyban The safety of amfebutamone (Zyban) is to be reviewed
by the European Agency for the Evaluation of Medicinal Products (EMEA).
The EMEA initiated the review at a meeting on 19–21 February following
a referral by Germany. A spokesman for the EMEA told The Journal
that the community-level review will examine the risk-benefit of amfebutamone,
including its safety and efficacy. The review is likely to take six months
to complete.
(www.emea.eu.int)
UK slips behind
Italy in drug sales The United Kingdom has been overtaken by
Italy as Europe's third biggest market for pharmaceuticals, according
to new figures from IMS Health. In the year to December 2001, sales of
pharmaceuticals through retail pharmacies in the UK increased by 11 per
cent to $9.4bn (£6.6bn). Sales in Italy rose by 13 per cent to $9.6bn.
The top two places in Europe are taken by Germany ($15.3bn) and France
($13.7bn).
(www.imshealth.com)
HRT reduces risk
of pressure sores Women over 65 years of age who are taking
hormone replacement therapy (HRT) are less likely to develop a venous
leg ulcer or a pressure ulcer than women who are not taking HRT, say researchers.
Of 44,195 records analysed, 2,546 elderly
women developed venous leg or pressure ulcers. Those taking HRT were 30–40
per cent less likely to develop an ulcer (Lancet 2002;359:675).
(www.thelancet.com)
Use of Synercid
in practice reviewed The place of the antibitoic combination
product quinupristin and dalfopristin (Synercid) in clinical practice
is reviewed in this month's Drug and Therapeutics Bulletin. It
says that the combination is effective for hospital-acquired pneumonia
and skin and soft tissue infections due to Gram-positive organisms. Limited
evidence supports its use for certain antibiotic-resistant infections.
However, there is some evidence of emerging in vitro resistance
and superinfections developing during treatment with the combination (2002;40:15).
(www.which.net/health/dtb)
CD rules to be
tightened Controlled Drugs controls are to be tightened by
the Home Office because of increased diversion of Schedule 3, 4 and 5
CDs to the illicit market. CDs in the three schedules will now be subject
to individual annual licensing, as with Schedule 1 and Schedule 2 CDs.
The change means that wholesalers and manufacturers will have to buy licences
for each CD they handle. A Home Office spokesman told The Journal
that the change would not affect transactions between community pharmacies
unless they were trading in CDs as wholesalers.
(Extension of controlled drug licensing (PDF*
30K))
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