| Government enters ‘strategic collaboration’ with tirzepatide obesity drug maker ... dded. Many community pharmacies began offering a tirzepatide service earlier this year after the four-dose Mounjaro KwikPen was approved by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). Earlier this month, Alastair Buxton, director of NHS services at Community Pharmacy England (CPE), told The Pharmacist that community pharmacies were 'well placed to offer a variety of preventio ... Date: 15-10-2024 Categories: • Clinical • Community • In Practice • News • Obesity & nutrition |
| Advice on dispensing valproate to men shared by GPhC The General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) has clarified what pharmacists need to do following a Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) warning to men taking valproate. Last week, the UK medicines regulator said men taking valproate and their partners should use effective contraception, because of a small increased risk of harm t ... Date: 11-09-2024 Categories: • Clinical • Community • In Practice • Long-term conditions • Men's health • Neurology • News • Women's health |
| MHRA warns men taking valproate to use contraception over small risk to children ... ‘newly identified risk’ at their next routine treatment review and discuss how it impacts their current treatment and other options available, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) said. It follows a retrospective observational study which found a possible association between valproate use by men and a small increased risk of a range of neurodevelopmental disorders in their ... Date: 06-09-2024 Categories: • Clinical • Community • In Practice • Men's health • News • Sexual health • Women's health |
| Epi-pen shortage affected pharmacist’s response to fatal Costa allergy ... e a response to the coroner's report by 15 October, outlining any action taken or proposed, or an explanation of why no action is proposed. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) recommends that patients with serious allergies carry two adrenaline auto-injectors. Date: 02-09-2024 Categories: • Allergy • Clinical • Community • News |
| Shortages hit contraceptive pills plus ADHD and addiction meds ... as a non-Part VIIIB special with: Amount dispensed over pack size used; Invoice price per pack size from which the order was supplied less any discount or rebate; Manufacturers’/importers’ MHRA licence number; Batch number of the product supplied; SP Central nervous system drugs were the second-most prescribed category of drugs in 2023/24, making up 19% of NHS England prescribing. ... Date: 23-08-2024 Categories: • Clinical • Community • In Practice • Mental health and addiction • News • Sexual health • Women's health |
| NICE rules Alzheimer’s-slowing drug lecanemab too expensive for NHS ... ittee concluded the benefits of the drug were too small to justify the cost. It comes on the same day as lecanemab was awarded a license by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) to treat adults in the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease who have one or no copies of the apolipoprotein E4 gene (ApoE4). Charities said the decision was ‘disappointing’ and that NICE had not t ... Date: 22-08-2024 Categories: • Clinical • Community • In Practice • Long-term conditions • Mental health and addiction • News |
| 'MHRA set to streamline UK medical device approvals' An MHRA statement of policy intent is designed to recognise approvals from specific foreign territories and to simplify and speed-up the regulatory process for medical devices. Thorrun Govind, solicitor (Bra ... Date: 29-07-2024 Categories: • Views |
| MHRA approves new use of semaglutide for cardiovascular prevention ... ved the use of semaglutide (Wegovy) for cardiovascular prevention in obese and overweight patients with established cardiovascular disease. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) granted the authorisation on Tuesday this week, making it the first weight loss drug to be prescribed as a preventative treatment for cardiovascular events. The drug, supplied by Novo Nordisk, is ... Date: 24-07-2024 Categories: • Cardiovascular • Clinical • Obesity & nutrition |
| PDA calls for ‘broader debate’ on P med self-selection ... nd supply could be delegated, it concluded that on P medicines specifically, ‘further work would need to be undertaken in consultation with the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Authority (MHRA)’. The PDA said that 'despite the unexpected nature' of the RPS's call for evidence, it was 'ready and insists that a broader debate within the profession must take place if substantial proposals ... Date: 24-07-2024 Categories: • Community • News |
| 'A number' of pharmacies to provide RSV vaccine in new NHS programme ... A bivalent recombinant vaccine developed by Pfizer, Abrysvo, will be used for both pregnant women and older adults, following its licensing by the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) in November last year. Providers should be able to order the vaccine online via the ImmForm website from early August, and must keep it refrigerated. The announcement of the programme follows ... Date: 24-06-2024 Categories: • Clinical • Community • News • Respiratory • Vaccinations and infections |
| What can UK pharmacists learn from strikes in France? ... Plans in France to make it easier to sell over-the-counter medications online have raised the alarm. Pharmacists fear that this move could further endanger the existing pharmacy network. Here, the MHRA found that online pharmacies pose ‘significant risks’ to the public, while survey results show that only 18% of the public used one recently. Further, as brick-and-mortar pharmacies decline, the numb ... Date: 11-06-2024 Categories: • Views |
| Allow pharmacists to amend prescriptions 'within three months', urge MPs ... rnment ‘as soon as possible’ and completed within six months of starting. ‘The review should assess, and suggest ways of improving, the resilience of the supply chain, the performance and role of the MHRA and the impact of prices paid for medicines and community pharmacy reimbursement mechanisms,’ the HSCC said. Reviewing the effectiveness of Serious Shortage Protocols (SSPs), ‘with a focus on thei ... Date: 29-05-2024 Categories: • Community • News |
| Pharmacists sentenced for illegally supplying 55 million doses of controlled drugs ... es after pleading guilty to supplying Class C drugs. The offences were uncovered by an investigation by the criminal enforcement unit of the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Authority (MHRA). Mandip Sidhu (47) from Littleover, Derby, was sentenced to two years imprisonment on each of five counts of supplying Class C drugs and four months for forgery, all to run concurrently and suspe ... Date: 20-05-2024 Categories: • Community • News |
| New patient card to be introduced for finasteride ... t card to increase awareness about these risks. Patients will be encouraged to show this card, and the patient leaflet, to friends and family, as they may not notice changes to their own mood, the MHRA said. And Dr Alison Cave, MHRA chief safety officer, said that patients taking finasteride 1 mg (Propecia) for hair loss who develop depression or suicidal thoughts should stop treatment and conta ... Date: 02-05-2024 Categories: • Clinical • Community • In Practice • Men's health • News |
| FIP argues for ‘approved format’ in e-labelling of medicines Various formats for the e-labelling of medicines may hinder patient access to information, a new report has warned. The paper – called E-labelling and Digital Transformation in Pharmacy from the Intern ... Date: 16-04-2024 Categories: • Community • News |
| Oestrogel recalled from pharmacies over faulty pump ... within these batches may be faulty, resulting in failure to dispense the product and in some cases the pump becoming detached from the bottle, the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has said. The product contains a form of the female hormone oestrogen and can be applied to the skin to relieve symptoms of the menopause such as hot flushes, night sweats, vaginal dryness and he ... Date: 19-03-2024 Categories: • Community • News |
| Government promises to tackle racial bias in pulse oximeters and clinical trials ... design better, smarter oximeters using innovative technologies to produce devices that are not biased by skin tone,’ it added. In response, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has implemented ‘a new validation process for clinical investigations in the UK that requests applicants demonstrate how they intend to address bias’, the government said. The MHRA also intends t ... Date: 14-03-2024 Categories: • Community • In Practice • News |
| Concern UK ‘will not be top of the list’ for global drug shortages ... or Winchester. Both Mr Samuels and Dr Rick Greville, the director of distribution and supply at the ABPI, highlighted issues with delays at the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). ‘It now takes between 24 and 30 months to licence a new generic drug,’ Mr Samuels told the committee. ‘That is wildly unacceptable. It should only be 12 months. It used to be 12 to 15 months, ... Date: 20-02-2024 Categories: • Community • News |
| Codeine linctus reclassified to prescription-only amid addiction risk ... ctus has been reclassified to a prescription-only medicine (POM) following concerns it was being used recreationally for its ‘opioid effects’, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has announced. The cough syrup, which is indicated for dry cough and contains the opioid painkiller codeine, was previously a Pharmacy (P) status medicine. The move from the MHRA follows a pub ... Date: 20-02-2024 Categories: • Clinical • Community • News • Respiratory |
| Mounjaro weight loss service hoped to ease supply issues ... vels in patients with type 2 diabetes, as well as regulating a patient’s appetite, and is also used as a weight-loss treatment. Last month, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) approved Mounjaro KwikPen, a new version of the treatment which is delivered in monthly doses through weekly injections. Hundreds of community pharmacies launched a Mounjaro service this week. ... Date: 16-02-2024 Categories: • Clinical • Community • Diabetes and endocrinology • News • Obesity & nutrition |
| Pharmacies can offer private Pfizer Covid jabs from March ... vid vaccine will be available to pharmacies to offer privately as of next month, it has been announced. The move comes after a licensing change from the Medicines and Healthcare Regulatory Agency (MHRA) which has made the Comirnaty vaccine available for private sale in Great Britain. The Comirnaty vaccine needs to be stored at -80 ºC, and previously only the NHS was licensed to thaw, re-label an ... Date: 13-02-2024 Categories: • Clinical • Community • Covid-19 • News • Vaccinations and infections |
| General sale morning-after pill could be ‘detrimental’ to patients ... nd reproductive health,’ Michelle Riddalls, chief executive of PAGB, said in a statement last week. Ms Riddalls encouraged manufacturers to apply to the Medicines and Healthcare Regulatory Agency (MHRA) ‘to ensure that a data driven review can take place’. But Ms Govind, who is a TV pharmacist and healthcare lawyer, told The Pharmacist that the ‘wealth of advice’ given by community pharmacists a ... Date: 05-02-2024 Categories: • Clinical • Community • News • Sexual health |
| More than 15.5 million doses of illegal medicines seized in 2023 Illegally traded medicines with a street value of more than £30m were seized by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) in 2023. The seizures were made as part of an international initiative called Operation Pangea and accounted for more than 15.5 million doses. Among the illegally traded medicines were prescri ... Date: 05-02-2024 Categories: • News |
| Latest valproate information as new rules come into force The Medicines and Healthcare Regulatory Authority (MHRA) has issued new dispensary posters, patient cards and guidance for healthcare teams as changes to valproate regulations came into effect this week. The government body has also stressed the ‘vital ... Date: 02-02-2024 Categories: • Clinical • Community • Mental health and addiction • News • Sexual health |
| Work together to implement new safety measures for valproate Dr Alison Cave, chief safety officer at the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), asks healthcare professionals to work together to better protect patients from the unnecessary harms of valproate, and to prescribe safer alternatives. New guidance was launched on 31 January Th ... Date: 01-02-2024 Categories: • Views • Views |
| Pharmacies can start Pharmacy First without an otoscope, says NHSE ... his does not apply to distance selling pharmacies, which are exempt from providing the acute otitis media pathway. NHSE guidance said the otoscope must be reliable, easy to use, and compliant with MHRA safety standards. And it must have: An LED (preferred) or halogen light source with adjustable brightness. At least 3x magnification lens A wide-angle lens A range of disposable tips ... Date: 25-01-2024 Categories: • Clinical • Community • Ear nose and throat • News • Pharmacy First |
| MHRA urges caution for men taking valproate ... proate around conception were diagnosed with a disorder, compared with three in 100 children with fathers who took other antiseizure drugs. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) confirmed yesterday that these results will be ‘rigorously analysed’, but in the meantime urged caution for male patients who want to have children. ‘As a precaution, male patients on valproate w ... Date: 17-01-2024 Categories: • Community • In Practice • Mental health and addiction • News • Sexual health |
| Regulation needs ‘creative’ approach to be fit for the future ... em it was possible for issues to fall outside of the jurisdiction of any regulator. ‘I think it's incumbent on us working with the other regulators, including, in England, particularly the CQC and MHRA [Medicines and Healthcare Regulatory Agency], to make sure that between us we don't allow anything to fall between the cracks,’ Mr Rudkin told the HSCC panel. For instance, he drew the committee’s ... Date: 16-01-2024 Categories: • Community • In Practice • News |
| Regulator to ‘urgently look into’ BBC online pharmacy claims ... face robust and appropriate sanctions from the regulators in this space’. The RPS called on the GPhC, the Care Quality Commission (CQC) and the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) to work together and share information ‘to help eradicate poor professional practice by online providers and support them to be active in addressing the issues raised by this BBC investigation’. ... Date: 05-01-2024 Categories: • Community • News |
| Government extends GLP-1 RA shortage warning until end of 2024 Supply of glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1 RAs) is not expected to return to normal until at least the end of 2024, the government has confirmed. In a patient safety alert published tod ... Date: 03-01-2024 Categories: • Clinical • Community • Diabetes and endocrinology • In Practice • News |
| MHRA update on links between aripiprazole and gambling disorder ... t to the known risk of patients developing addictive gambling, according to a new drug safety update. This reminder about aripiprazole from the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) comes after a rise in the number of reports of gambling or gambling disorder it received in 2023. Between 1 January and 31 August 2023, the MHRA’s Yellow Card scheme received 32 reports of gambli ... Date: 20-12-2023 Categories: • Clinical • Mental health and addiction • News |
| Menopause drug to treat hot flushes and night sweats gets MHRA approval The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has authorised the use of fezolinetant – manufactured under the brand name of Veoza – to treat hot flushes and night sweats associated with the menopause. Julian Beach, interim executive director ... Date: 19-12-2023 Categories: • News |
| DHSC ‘in talks’ over private sale of Covid vaccines ... NHSE vaccination strategy, published last week, noted that the private sale of Covid vaccines would be in line with other vaccines approved by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) that are currently sold privately, including those for flu, and ‘would not influence the scope or supply of the NHS programme’. In August, pharmacy multiple Superdrug predicted an increase in int ... Date: 18-12-2023 Categories: • Clinical • News • Vaccinations and infections |
| Influenza antivirals made available to pharmacists at NHS expense The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has made two influenza antivirals available to pharmacists at NHS expense due to rising flu levels in the community. According to a letter published via ... Date: 15-12-2023 Categories: • Clinical • News • Respiratory |
| Plan now for upcoming valproate prescribing rule changes, instructs MHRA New regulatory measures tightening the rules around valproate prescribing are set to come into force from January 2024, and the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is urging healthcare organisations to adequately prepare. From the new year, the first phase of the new measures will curb the use of valproate in new male or female patients under 55 years of ag ... Date: 01-12-2023 Categories: • News |
| Withdrawal notice issued for carbomer eye gels over infection fears Carbomer-containing eye gels branded Aacarb, Aacomer and Puroptics have a potential risk of microbial contamination, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has warned. Precautionary safety advice regarding possible infection from the gels has been issued. Healthcare professionals and retailers have been advised to withdraw the products, and the MHRA ... Date: 30-11-2023 Categories: • News |
| Ban multi-buy deals on pain relief medicine, government urged ... sive overdose. The RPS also believes the deals are in ‘direct violation’ of voluntary guidance on sales of pain relief medicines set out by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). The guidance advises retailers not to sell more than two packs in any one transaction or promote offers encouraging sales of more than one pack. The RPS has written to Maria Caulfield MP, min ... Date: 07-11-2023 Categories: • Clinical • News • Pain |
| Vaccination access ‘key’ to tackling health inequalities ... s well set up to pull those innovations through so we can get them to the population and to patients as quickly as possible.’ He also suggested that the Medicines and Healthcare Regulatory Agency (MHRA) could become ‘an investment centre’ while retaining its independence. ‘Good discussions’ on national vaccine strategy In May, senior NHS England official Dr Nikki Kanani confirmed that a natio ... Date: 01-11-2023 Categories: • Community • News • Vaccinations and infections |
| Patients hospitalised from 'potentially fake' weight-loss pens The Medicines and Healthcare Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has received reports of ‘a very small number of people’ who have been hospitalised after using ‘potentially fake’ weight-loss pens, it has announced. The regulator has seized 369 potentially fake ... Date: 30-10-2023 Categories: • Clinical • Community • News • Obesity & nutrition |
| MHRA finds fake Ozempic pens in UK supply chain Pre-filled pens falsely labelled as Ozempic have been identified in the UK supply chain, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has confirmed. The pens were identified before reaching UK patients, and all affected pens have now been recalled and accounted for, the MHRA said. The products were imported from legitimate s ... Date: 20-10-2023 Categories: • Community • Diabetes and endocrinology • News |
| MHRA issues guidance on valproate full pack dispensing The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has issued new guidance on full pack dispensing for medicines containing valproate, with regulation changes now in effect. The legislation was amended after a government consultation determined t ... Date: 11-10-2023 Categories: • News |
| ADHD medicine shortage will prompt supply queries Community pharmacies may be contacted by GPs regarding the availability of medicines used to treat ADHD in the coming weeks, amid a national shortage. A national patient safety alert issued this week s ... Date: 28-09-2023 Categories: • News |
| Scabies medicines shortages ‘significant threat’ to public health ... te supply of effective treatments.’ He added: ‘We urge manufacturers of permethrin and malathion to do everything in their power to increase production. ‘We also call on regulators, such as the MHRA, and the Government to give the necessary support to manufacturers and suppliers to enable them to rapidly resolve the issue.’ Dr Tess McPherson, President of the British Society for Paediatric an ... Date: 21-09-2023 Categories: • Clinical • Community • Dermatology and wound care • News |
| Government to review medicine guidelines in new suicide prevention strategy ... set to review guidelines around the supply and prescribing of medicines as part of its new suicide prevention strategy for England, released today. The Medicines and Healthcare Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is to monitor whether retailers are complying with guidance around the sale of analgesics such as paracetamol, including promotions that exceed the recommended maximum. And the Department of Heal ... Date: 11-09-2023 Categories: • Clinical • Community • Mental health and addiction • News |
| Number of potentially addictive drugs prescribed nearly unchanged in seven years ... ndence on, or withdrawal from, prescribed medicines, and it said that more research was needed in this area. Following this, in August 2021 the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) published an updated opioid medicines and the risk of addiction safety leaflet. And in April 2022 the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) published guidance on safe prescribi ... Date: 07-09-2023 Categories: • Analysis • Clinical • Community • In Practice • Mental health and addiction • News • Pain |
| HRT guidance updated amid shortages and recall ... he last six months, they can be supplied with a correct patch from another batch, which manufacturer Theramex has confirmed are all unaffected. The Medicines and Health products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has also recently issued a class 4 medicines defect information notice for Tostran (Testosterone 2% gel), requiring pharmacy teams to give further guidance to their patients supplied with affected b ... Date: 06-09-2023 Categories: • Community • In Practice • News |
| Online pharmacies warned over risks of not contacting GPs ... future deaths, was drafted by the coroner to official bodies including the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC), the Care Quality Commission, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and online pharmacy UK Meds. It raises concerns that there is no integrated system in place to show prescribers what has been dispensed by other online pharmacies, or to require online pharmacies ... Date: 01-09-2023 Categories: • News |
| ‘Vital’ to improve diabetes medication supply and staff resource before winter ... is causing, and the disruption patients and healthcare professionals are experiencing.’ And they said that the manufacturer is working closely with the Medicines and Healthcare Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and was doing its ‘utmost’ to discourage the off-label use of its medicines. ‘We are working together to issue communications about the appropriate use of our medicines at this time to healthcare ... Date: 16-08-2023 Categories: • Cardiovascular • Clinical • Diabetes and endocrinology • News |
| MHRA reinforces anaphylaxis guidance amid surge in hospitalisations The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has reinforced its emergency anaphylaxis guidance amid a rise in hospitalisations. The MHRA recently issued new guidance on how to recognise and respond to the signs of anaphylaxis and on the use ... Date: 07-08-2023 Categories: • Allergy • Clinical • News |
| What changes are being proposed to supervision legislation and guidance? ... ose requiring further pharmacist intervention would have to wait until the RP returned. And further work was needed in consultation with the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Authority (MHRA) around the sale of P medicines in the absence of the RP, the group said. Pharmacists can delegate some tasks and responsibility to pharmacy technicians, but retain accountability when delegatin ... Date: 01-08-2023 Categories: • Analysis • Community • News |
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