News summary
News in brief
NICE approves imatinib for patients with chronic myeloid
leukaemia National Health Service organisations
have three months to ensure that funding is available for imatinib (Glivec),
after guidance was issued by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence
this week. ...[more]
GSK spokesman broke ABPI code by issuing misleading
statements about Seroxat side effects GlaxoSmithKline Plc
breached the pharmaceutical industry’s code of practice by downplaying
the side effects of Seroxat (paroxetine)...[more]
Chief pharmacist says LPS should become a priority
for profession Pharmacists should consider submitting proposals
for local pharmaceutical services pilots as a priority...[more]
Treatment with magnesium is neither helpful nor
harmful after heart attacks Intravenous magnesium confers no
benefit to patients with acute myocardial infarction...[more]
Pharmacist facilitators wanted to spread the
word on concordance The Medicines Partnership programme is
looking to appoint 30 to 40 pharmacists (and similar numbers of doctors
and nurses) as concordance facilitators...[more]
Boots’s Irish fine Boots The Chemists
in Ireland has been fined for charging customers more than displayed prices
when they took items to the tills to pay for them...[more]
Industry loses £1bn a year to parallel trade
Parallel trading is costing the pharmaceutical industry in
Britain £1bn a year in lost revenues...[more]
Patients wishing to stop taking SSRIs should
seek professional advice first Patients concerned that they
may experience withdrawal effects when they stop taking their prescribed
antidepressant should not do anything sudden and should discuss the matter
with their doctor or with a psychiatric pharmacist...[more]
Escitalopram has faster action and is better
tolerated than venlafaxine The selective serotonin re-uptake
inhibitor escitalopram (Cipralex) achieves remission of depression faster
than the serotonin noradrenaline reuptake inhibitor venlafaxine (Efexor
XL)...[more]
Renewed calls for statin prescribing guidelines
to be revised after new trial Cardiology experts have once
again called for statins to be prescribed to patients who are at risk
of major cardiac events, regardless of their cholesterol level...[more]
WWII bomb forces five pharmacies in Sunderland
to close Five pharmacies were among hundreds of premises evacuated
for at least 48 hours earlier this week after a 1,000lb World War II bomb
was found in the Hendon area of Sunderland...[more]
Internet map will trace new drugs A
consultant psychiatrist from St George’s Hospital, London, is to
map drug abuse-related websites throughout the world in order to give
health professionals more up-to-date information...[more]
New pulmonary anti-hypertensive The
endothelin receptor antagonist bosentan (Tracleer), used for the treatment
of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), has been launched by Actelion...[more]
Control of diabetes will cost £100.5m The
net annual cost of implementing better glycaemic and blood pressure control
for people with type 2 diabetes has been calculated at £100.5m...[more]
Resource pack launched aimed at preventing falls
The Pharmacy Healthcare Scheme has launched a community pharmacy
information pack aimed at helping prevent falls among older people...[more]
Health care professionals ascribe too many symptoms
to teething Health care professionals in Australia, including
pharmacists, believe that teething causes a range of symptoms even though
there is evidence to suggest that it is associated, at most, with minor
and relatively infrequent symptoms...[more]
Opioids effctive in treatment of post-shingles
neuralgia Opioids can be used to treat postherpetic neuralgia
(PHN), according to American researchers...[more]
GEHE's property arm opens health centre in Scotland
GEHE HCS, a subsidiary of GEHE UK, has opened its first health
centre in Scotland...[more]
Pharmacies in South Wales provide blood pressure
testing Ninety community pharmacies across Pembrokeshire, Cardiganshire
and Carmarthenshire recently provided free blood pressure testing and
follow-up tests to patients as part of Stroke Awareness Week...[more]
Homoeopathic hospital to launch own products
The Royal London Homoeopathic Hospital will be launching a
range of complementary medicines and products at the end of this month...[more]
Euro MPs oppose educational adverts from the
industry A group of Members of the European Parliament have
declared their opposition to plans to allow pharmaceutical companies to
publish information about the treatment of three major diseases...[more]
Effect of herb medicine regulation on industry
likely to be minimal Only a small number of herbal products
could be banned under a proposed European directive aimed at regulating
the herbal industry, according to the Government...[more]
Call for all new medicines to be tested for children
Members of the European Parliament are pushing for changes
to proposed European Union legislation on the authorisation of medicines
so that it requires all new medicines to be tested for their suitability
for children...[more]
Cream for atopic eczema launched A
cream containing 1 per cent pimecrolimus (Elidel) for the treatment of
eczema has been launched...[more]
NEWS IN BRIEF
Fraudulent exemption claims
One in every six charge-exempt prescriptions checked by the Prescription
Pricing Authority in the past financial year bore a fraudulent exemption
claim. The PPA annual report for 2001–02 shows that £444,000
in unpaid prescription charges was recovered by the PPA compliance unit.
The unit checks 400,000 claims every year.
Morning sickness warning
The Foods Standards agency has issued a warning against the use of calabash
chalk, a traditional remedy used by west African women to treat morning
sickness. Calabash chalk, also known as La Craie, argille, nzu, mabele
and calabar stone contains up to 16mg/kg of lead — 4.5 times the
World Health Organization’s safety limit for lead in food products.
MeReC on migraine
The latest issue of the MeReC Bulletin reviews the clinical features and
diagnosis of migraine and discusses options available for prophylaxis
and for the treatment of an acute attack. A copy of the bulletin is included
with this week’s issue of The Journal sent to community pharmacists
in England and Wales. It is also available from the National Prescribing
Centre websites (www.npc.co.uk and nww.npc.ppa.nhs.uk).
Sunscreen safeguard called for
Currently sunscreens fall under The Cosmetic Product (Safety) Regulations
1996, but trading standards officers from Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire,
Shropshire, Warwickshire and Worcestershire have called for more stringent
safeguards to ensure these products provide the sun protection stated.
Superdrug raises £25,000 for
asthma
Sales of pots of bubble-blowing solution from Superdrug stores raised
£25,000 for the National Asthma Campaign “Blow bubbles for
asthma” campaign over the summer. The total amount raised nationwide
was £100,000.
GSK to relabel medicines for Africa
GlaxoSmithKline has asked for European regulatory approval for special
packaging to be allowed for medicines sold at a discount to African countries.
The request follows the discovery of substantial quantities of medicines
destined for Africa on the parallel import market in the Netherlands.
The European Association of Euro-Pharmaceutical Companies has called on
GSK to monitor distribution more closely.
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