The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 274 No 7353 p702
11 June 2005

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Pharmacist-led company provides PIL user-testing

A pharmacist-led University of Leeds spin-out company, LUTO, has been set up to provide a patient information leaflet (PIL) testing service to the pharmaceutical industry. The company was developed in response to regulations making user testing of PILs mandatory. The regulations come into force in the UK on 1 July and in other EU member states on 31 October.

LUTO (Leeds University Testing Organisation) is led by Theo Raynor, professor of pharmacy practice at the university, who has worked for over 20 years in the field of patient-focused research into medicines labelling and leaflets.

He is joined by two other pharmacist directors — Burrinder Grewal, who brings commercial expertise, and John Blenkinsopp, a consultant to the pharmaceutical industry.

The team is completed by two directors from other disciplines at the University of Leeds — Peter Knapp, a psychologist, and Mark Gibson, a socio-linguist. LUTO provides user testing of PILs, packs and other written material for patients to pharmaceutical companies and manufacturers of generic and over-the-counter products in the UK and Europe.