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727 New
Council agrees to leave Charter petition with Privy Council pending further
discussion this month The new Council of the Royal Pharmaceutical
Society has agreed to leave the petition for a new Charter with the Privy
Council pending further consideration by Council later this month ...more
727 Section
60 Order consultation likely to start in the autumn The Government
is set to issue a formal consultation on the Section 60 Order under the
Health Act 1999 that will underpin the future regulatory functions of
the Royal Pharmaceutical Society. The Society said that the latest indication
was that the consultation would be published in the autumn ...more
727 All
change on Council A new President, Vice-President and Treasurer
of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society have been elected ...more
727 SPF
broadly supportive of community pharmacy proposals The Scottish
Pharmaceutical Federation is broadly supportive of recent proposals to
modernise community pharmacy set out by the Scottish Executive Health
Department. However, it has expressed a number of concerns, particularly
around the planning of how pharmaceutical services are provided ...more
728 OTC switching could save €16bn a year in Europe Reclassifying a third of the prescription medicines that are suitable for sale over the counter could save more than €16bn a year in the enlarged European Union, according to research by the Association of the European Self-Medication Industry (AESGP)
...more
728 UK
health department backs PAGB project to test self-care in one primary
care trust Government backing has been given to a Proprietary
Association of Great Britain project to test the effectiveness of self-care
...more
728 Self-medication
should be the rule, not the exception All medicines should
be available over the counter unless there are good reasons to restrict
them to prescription supply, according to the president of the International
Alliance of Patients' Organizations ...more
728 EC
targets price and class for harmonisation Medicines should
cost the same and have the same legal classification throughout Europe,
according to the European Commission ...more
729 Lipid-lowering
halves stroke risk in type 2 diabetes Patients with type 2
diabetes treated with 10mg atorvastatin (Lipitor) daily have their risk
for stroke halved and a reduced incidence of cardiovascular events compared
with patients given placebo, a major UK study revealed this week ...more
729 Temozolomide
plus radiotherapy improves survival in brain tumour Patients
with glioblastoma, a form of brain cancer that is difficult to treat,
show a survival benefit if temozolomide (Temodal) is given along with
the standard treatment of radiation therapy following surgery, according
to data presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology annual
meeting this week ...more
729 Improved
CHD death rates threatened by rising obesity Death rates from coronary heart disease in the UK are falling but this trend is threatened by increasing levels of obesity, according to new research published by the British Heart Foundation to mark “heart week” which ends on 13 June
...more
729 Statins may
prevent cancer Statins may have a protective effect against
colorectal cancer, according to data from a case-control study presented
at the American Society of Clinical Oncology annual meeting in New Orleans
earlier this week ...more
730 Charing Cross
Hospital starts trial of “total” medicines system London's Charing Cross Hospital is starting evaluation trials of a “total” computerised medicines system featured
...more
730 OTC advertising
restrictions removed Rules that prevent the advertising of
over-the-counter medicines for 13 conditions are to be scrapped on 30
June ...more
730 Pharmacy
consulting areas wanted by men Private consulting areas for
discussing health issues with pharmacists would encourage 39 per cent
of men to make more frequent use of pharmacies, according to Ian Banks,
president of the Men's Health Forum ...more
730 Cough research
wins award Giving parents accurate information about the natural
history of a child's cough may help to reduce expectations for antibiotics
and the need to consult a GP ...more
730 Meningococcal
prophylaxis People who live in the same household as a patient
with meningococcal disease should be given prophylaxis with antibiotics,
say researchers ...more
730 Burden of
diabetes Most people with diabetes have serious concerns about
health complications that may result from their condition, a survey commissioned
by Roche has revealed ...more
731 UK methadone
doses may not be high enough Daily doses of methadone between
60mg and 120mg lead to improved outcomes but only a quarter of those
in methadone treatment programmes receive these doses, according to a
report published by the National Treatment Agency for Substance Misuse
...more
731 Check epilepsy
medication prescribed for newly diagnosed women Pharmacists
should check with a patient's GP if they are concerned about the epilepsy
treatment prescribed for newly diagnosed women because of the increased
risk of birth defects associated with some drugs, an epilepsy specialist
has suggested ...more
731 Confidence
in St John's wort misplaced? St John's wort may be less effective
as a treatment for depression than previously assumed, a new study has
revealed ...more
731 Antibacterial
prophylaxis in arterial surgery As part of its series on antibacterial
prophylaxis in surgery, the Drug and Therapeutics Bulletin reviews the
clinical evidence for prophylaxis in surgery involving the arteries of
the abdomen, pelvis and legs ...more
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732 Mental health
research funding is opportunity for pharmacists Mental health
research has been given a boost this week with the creation of a mental
health research network and Government funding of £5m ...more
732 Pharmacists’ chronic
disease role recognised Community pharmacists in England
give the NHS a head start in managing chronic illness. So says a Department
of Health guide to chronic disease management published last month ...more
732 Guide on
porcine-derived drugs launched A guide for health care professionals
about drugs of porcine origin has been launched by the Medicines Partnership
...more
732 Paying for
statins affects patients' adherence Patients who have to contribute
to the cost of statin treatment are less likely to adhere to therapy,
a US study has revealed ...more
732 CPPE technician
website A website for pharmacy technicians in England has
been launched by the Centre for Pharmacy Postgraduate Education ...more
732 Twice-daily
GSL service UniChem is to offer twice-daily delivery on all
general sale list medicines ...more
732 New specials
association Eleven specials manufacturers have formed the
Association of Commercial Specials Manufacturers ...more
R & D NEWS
733 Diabetes drug may lower weight as well as HbA1c Exenatide, the first of a new class of incretin-mimetic antidiabetes drugs lowers glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) and body weight, according to a phase III study presented to the American Diabetes Association by Ralph DeFronzo, University of Texas. It also appears to elicit a short-term beta-cell response to glucose infusion
...more
733 Patients
with diabetes prefer inhaled insulin over injected insulin Patients
prefer inhaled insulin over the subcutaneous product, according to a
study published last week ...more
733 Credit-card
sized inhaler in development An inhaler the size of a credit
card has been designed by a student at Brunel University ...more
733 Cannabinoid
blockers may benefit bones Drugs that block cannabinoid receptors may represent a “promising” new treatment for osteoporosis and other bone diseases, according to Aymen Idris, of the bone research group at Aberdeen University
...more
734 Erlotinib
improves survival in lung cancer patients Median and long-term
survival is improved in patients with relapsed advanced non-small cell
lung cancer who receive erlotinib (Tarceva), results from a phase III
study suggest. Tarceva is being developed by a global alliance of Roche,
OSI Pharmaceuticals and Genentech ...more
734 Bevacizumab/erlotinib
combination active in advanced renal cell carcinoma Two targeted
agents, bevacizumab (Avastin) and erlotinib (Tarceva) used in combination,
appear to be active and well tolerated in the treatment of advanced renal
carcinoma, according to data from a phase II clinical trial. However,
the lead investigator, John Hainsworth, Sarah Cannon Cancer Centre, Nashville,
Tennessee, who presented the data, warned that it would be unwise to
go too far in concluding anything from phase II trials since patient
selection can influence the results ...more
734 Cetuximab
added to radiotherapy improves patients' survival in head and neck cancer Patients
with locally advanced squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck have
improved control and overall survival is increased if cetuximab (Erbitux,
developed by ImClone) is added to their high-dose radiotherapy regimen.
So said James Bonner, professor of radiation oncology, University of
Alabama, when he presented results of a phase III trial ...more
734 New drug
may elucidate important pathways for targeted therapies SU11248,
a new drug being developed by Pfizer that targets growth signals in cancer
cells, may elicit a response in patients with gastrointestinal stromal
tumour (GIST) who have become resistant to treatment with imatinib (Glivec).
So suggest data from a phase II clinical trial presented by George Demetri,
director, centre for sarcoma and bone oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute,
Boston, Massachusetts. The findings of this study could lead to improved
treatments in more common cancers, Dr Demetri said ...more
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The
Pharmaceutical Journal