Cardiff University has formed a drug discovery collaboration with Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited (Takeda) to identify new approaches for treating schizophrenia and other psychiatric disorders. The collaboration will combine the university’s large-scale genomic data, and world-class expertise in psychiatric genetics, genomics, and neuroscience, with Takeda’s extensive drug discovery and clinical development capabilities. ‘Recent developments in [...]

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently approved Aemcolo (rifamycin), an antibacterial drug indicated for the treatment of adult patients with travellers’ diarrhoea caused by non-invasive strains of Escherichia coli (E. coli), not complicated by fever or blood in the stool. ‘Travellers’ diarrhoea affects millions of people each year and having treatment options for [...]

A new project to analyse the roles of pharmacists in the early years of their careers has been launched in partnership by the Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) and Health Education England (HEE). The project will be led by the Work Psychology Group and will reflect roles in all four UK health systems. It will include [...]

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently approved Xofluza (baloxavir marboxil) for the treatment of acute uncomplicated influenza (flu) in patients 12 years of age and older who have been symptomatic for no more than 48 hours. ‘This is the first new antiviral flu treatment with a novel mechanism of action approved by the [...]

Scientists at The University of Manchester have shown for the first time how antibiotics can predispose the gut to avoidable infections that trigger bowel disease in mice. The team, led by Dr Elizabeth Mann, also showed that substances derived from fibre prevent this damage to the gut, suggesting a high fibre diet could be useful [...]

From the DNA of nearly 300,000 veterans, scientists have singled out a handful of genetic mutations that not only govern levels of cholesterol, but may also inform the development and use of drugs for cardiovascular disease and diabetes, according to researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine and the Palo Alto Veteran Affairs Healthcare [...]

The Pharmacists’ Defence Association has released the third chapter of its pharmacy technicians report which shows that although 73 per cent of pharmacy technicians on the 2017 General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) register were admitted through grandparenting arrangements, the GPhC does not hold records of what assessments were conducted by the Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) as [...]

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved a new drug, Arikayce (amikacin liposome inhalation suspension), for the treatment of a lung disease caused by a group of bacteria, Mycobacterium avium complex (MAC), in a limited population of patients with the disease who do not respond to conventional treatment (refractory disease). MAC is a [...]

A newly-developed drug can prevent the most common type of pancreatic cancer from growing and spreading in laboratory mice, according to a study led by Cedars-Sinai. The study, published recently in the journal, Gastroenterology, also demonstrated in mice that the drug, called Metavert, may prevent patients from developing a resistance to currently-used pancreatic cancer chemotherapies. [...]

The Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) has announced that Tamara Cairney and Andrew Carruthers have joined the Scottish Pharmacy Board as co-opted board members. Tamara is a pharmacist in a split role between the Royal Alexandra Hospital and GP practices in Renfrewshire and is working to complete the NES Pharmacist Vocational Foundation Training Programme. Tamara started [...]