Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

AstraZeneca to seek commercial price for preventive antibody cocktail

AstraZeneca said its antibody cocktail against Covid-19 would – unlike its vaccine – be priced commercially as it negotiates supply contracts with governments around the globe.

“We are looking at a commercial pricing strategy. That is part of our negotiations with governments,” Iskra Reic, Astra’s executive vice president for vaccines and immune therapies, said in a media call on Thursday.


She added that the group’s main objective was to make the shot affordable and broadly available.

AstraZeneca earlier cemented its lead in bringing a preventative Covid-19 shot to market, saying its antibody cocktail offered 83 per cent protection over six months, another possible weapon in the fight against the pandemic.

Chief executive Pascal Soriot said on the call that the antibody treatment was more complicated to produce than a vaccine but that there would be enough production capacity around the world to meet demand.

More For You

Professor Sir Stephen Powis at a press briefing

Professor Sir Stephen Powis, was appointed national medical director of NHS England in 2018

NHS

NHS England’s top doctor to step down following Amanda Pritchard’s resignation

Just a week after NHS England chief executive Amanda Pritchard announced her resignation, the organisation’s national medical director, Professor Sir Stephen Powis, has confirmed he will step down this summer after more than seven years in the role.

In a statement released on Thursday, Professor Powis revealed that he had informed Pritchard of his intention to leave in a letter back in January.

Keep ReadingShow less
PDA calls on GP practices to use funding boost to improve job security for pharmacists

Now, it is time to focus on the community pharmacy contract

gettyimages

PDA urges GP practices to ensure funding boost supports employed pharmacists

The Pharmacists' Defence Association (PDA) has called on GP practicesto ensure that all healthcare professionals they employ, including pharmacists, benefit from the 7.2% funding boost they received under a newly agreed contract.

GP employers are encouraged to improve “job security, pay and conditions” for employees with this increased funding.

Keep ReadingShow less
Fourth Shift: Investment in Innovative Medicines Crucial for NHS 10-Year Plan Success

Medicines should be viewed as an investment rather than a cost

gettyimages

ABPI wants to see a ‘fourth shift’ in NHS 10-Year Health Plan


The Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI) has called on the government to increase investment in innovative medicines and vaccines, describing it as a crucial “fourth shift” necessary to ensure the NHS is fit for the future.

Keep ReadingShow less
Asda pharmacy launches UK’s first adult earache service

Asda makes ear health more accessible for everyone

gettyimages

Asda pharmacy launches £25 adult earache service

British supermarket chain Asda has launched the “UK’s first” adult earache service, aiming to reduce the burden on NHS services by eliminating the need for a GP appointment.

Priced at £25, the service allows patients aged 18 and over to book same-day appointments with qualified Asda pharmacists at any of its 226 pharmacies in England.

Keep ReadingShow less
Cat Smith MP Leads Call for Urgent Action

Health minister Wes Streeting

Pic credit: Getty Images

Urgent review into medicine shortages needed, ministers tell Streeting

Health minister Wes Streeting has been urged by 45 MPs to call an urgent review into medicine shortages that is impacting the health and safety of patients.

The news comes on the back of the death David Compton, a 44-year-old man who fell and suffered a heart attack which has been linked to him not being able to get medication for epilepsy.

Keep ReadingShow less