National Pandemic Flu Line Closed

It has been said today that the Pandemic Flu service will be withdrawn as from 11^th February but can be restored within 7 days if it is needed.

The phone line & the website will be taken down, and any leaflets ect will be excluded from advertising it. The website holds information about Swine Flu, such as the symptoms and what to do and who to call, as well as the phone line in which you can call to talk to some one with relevant information.

Dr Ridge explains “the antiviral collection points will continue to operate until the end of the flu season (the end of March 2010) but antivirals will only be authorised via health care professionals using either antiviral authorisation vouchers or the right hand side of FP10s”.

AstraZeneca To Cut 8000 Pharmaceutical Jobs

AstraZeneca, the Anglo-Swedish pharmaceutical group, is setting up for one of the biggest shake-ups to be known in the industry.

The company have plans to remove 8,000 more pharmaceutical jobs all over the world by 2014. The new cuts follow the loss of 12,600 roles at the group since 2007

Launch of General Pharmaceutical Council may be delayed

The General Pharmaceutical Council’s launch is set to be delayed until atleast spring 2010.

Chief Exec Duncan Rudkin told the Pharmaceutical Journal “the regulator is still on target to become a legal entity in the spring, but said he is currently unable to give a firm date for when the new body will actually go live with pharmacy regulation”.

“We’re working hard with Society staff and … Department of Health officials so that we can fix a date as soon as possible,” said Mr Rudkin, stressing that he wants to make sure he has a start date that everyone can be completely confident in before making any announcements.

Hanningfield Announce New Representatives in USA

As part of a continued effort to expand their global network of representatives, Hanningfield Process Systems are proud to announce two agreements with companies in North America. The Carl Anderson Agency (PA) will cover Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware and Maryland. Meanwhile, Roth Equipment Consultants will be responsible for North Carolina and South Carolina.

Both bring a wealth of knowledge and are able to offer all the necessary expertise and assistance required of an agent, with a strong understanding of the needs of the pharmaceutical, food and chemical industries.

If you are in the USA and would like more information on any ofHanningfield’s products, please contact:

The Carl Anderson Agency (Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland)
5 Christopher Lee Drive
New Oxford, PA 17350 USA
Tel: 610.417.1483
E-Mail: info@CarlAndersonAgency.com

Roth Equipment Consultants, Inc. (North Carolina, South Carolina)
14460 New Falls of Neuse Rd.
Suite 149-150
Raleigh, NC 27614 USA
Tel: 919.616.3036
E-Mail: jroth@rothequipmentinc.com

Powerful drug for arthritis approved in Scotland.

An arthritis drug that is quite powerful has been approved in Scotland after it was feared it was too expensive for patients in England & Wales.

The NICE (National Institute for Health & Clinical Excellence) has said that the drug Tocilizumab was too expensive for people not living in Scotland.

The treatment aims an inflammatory signaling molecule to reduce symptoms, used in combination with standard anti-inflammatory drug MTX researchers have discovered that Tocilizumab can improve remission rates for those with arthritis.

Leading rheumatologist Professor John Isaacs, from the Institute of Cellular Medicine at the University of Newcastle, said: “This is fantastic news for people in Scotland who suffer from this disabling, life-long disease.

“However, it also highlights the disparities in accessing treatment between Scotland and the rest of the UK.”

Ailsa Bosworth, chief executive of the National Rheumatoid Arthritis Society, which receives support from pharmaceutical companies including Roche, said: “The SMC’s decision provides people with rheumatoid arthritis in Scotland who face a life of pain and potential disability another chance of combating their disease.

“We strongly hope that Nice will revise its draft guidance to ensure that people with rheumatoid arthritis across the country are able to benefit from RoActemra.”

Sore throat steroids cure?

To reduce the pain of a sore throat it is now said that steroids can quickly help it, results were found last week by Annals of Family medicine.

Investigators went through 8 randomized trials (controlled) on the use of the steroids to see the reaction of the sore throat pain in adults and children.

The outcome was that it took 4–11 hours after the steroids were taken for the pain to wear off and within 28 hours the pain had disappeared, but the patients were also taking anti-biotics at the same time.

The steroids have shown to work, but have not been recommended as the benefits of them have to be shown along side the possible side effects that they can have.

They said there was now a need for further research to assess the safety of steroids in patients with sore throat without giving antibiotics. Other research is also needed to look at the benefits of giving steroids in combination with over-the-counter pain relief.

J&J Paid Kickbacks to hike sales of deadly drug.

Johnson&Johnson have paid tens of millions of dollars in kickbacks in aid of nursing homes putting more patients on its Schizophrenia medicine, U.S Prosecutors have said.

A complaint was filed last Friday stating that J&J paid rebates and other forms of kickbacks to Omnicare Inc. (the biggest dispenser of prescription drugs in nursing homes). Omnicare are alleged then recommended that nursing home patients which have signs of Alzheimer’s disease to be prescribed the powerful drug ‘Risperdal’, which has been found to cause death in elderly patients.

“Kickbacks in the nursing home pharmacy context are particularly nefarious because they can result in excessive prescribing of strong drugs to patients who have little or no control over the medical care they are receiving,” U.S. Attorney Carmen Ortiz said in a statement. “Nursing home doctors should be able to rely on the integrity of the recommendations they receive from pharmacists, and those recommendations should not be a product of money that a drug company is paying to the pharmacy.”

Haiti supplies needed URGENTLY.

As you may have heard Haiti have recently been unlucky with having an earthquake, many have been killed and more injured.

They need our help, as having nothing left we need to send supplies to them.
Medical supplies such as Anti Biotics, Pain Killers & bandages is just a short list of things that they need, if you can donate anything at all to help these poor people who have suffered then please do.

Unicef.com/Haiti - you can make a donation here.

Thankyou.

Hanningfield Announce New Representative for India and SAARC Region

Hanningfield Process Systems are proud to announce the agreement with EquipNet India to act as the new representative for Hanningfieldin the SAARC Region. EquipNet India are able to offer all the necessary expertise and required of an agent, with a keen understanding of the needs of the pharmaceutical, food and chemical industries. EquipNet India will act as the sole representative for Hanningfield in India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Nepal.

Managing Director, Colin Ellis was extremely pleased at the prospect of partnering with EquipNet India, stating: “We are delighted to now be able to offer our world-class range of products to the SAARC region through our new partnership. We are excited about this new relationship, and look forward to a long and successful association with EquipNet India and the process industries in India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nepal.”

If you are in the SAARC Region, and would like more information on any of Hanningfield’s products, please contact:

Mahesh Karande
EquipNet (India) Pvt Ltd.
110, Blue Rose Indl. Estate
Off W.E. Highway, Borivali (E)
Mumbai 400 066, India
T: +91.22.66715078 | 40161847
D: +91.22.28480883
F: +91.22.67415433
C: +91.9967693939
E: India@EquipNet.com
W: www.equipnetindia.com

Use generic drugs instead of Branded saves costs.

In England there have been plans to increase the prescription of less expensive medicines in primary care.

They are eager to use the more generic medicines as they are less expensive than the branded ones. The proposition includes making a list of products for replacement, and another list of items that would be excused. They will put out for the publics opinion over the next 3 months.

The NHS spends about £9 billion a year, on branded medicines in the UK alone, and a 5 year voluntary contract negotiated between the government andpharmaceutical company last year includes dropping what the NHS spend on branded medicines.

Sir Allen McCray Passes.

The news of Sir Allen McClay passing has saddened many, it has been said that McClay, 77, was the most successful business man ever produced in the pharmaceutical industry.

Leaving behind his wife, Heather in who he married last November in hospital.

McClay qualified as a pharmacist in 1953 and 15 years later he established his own company Galen in 1968.

Out of this company, he became a multi millionaire, as it was a world leading bio-tech and pharmaceutical company, this made him one of Irelands richest men.

Honours have been paid to Sir Allen by the NI deputy first minister, Martin McGuinness, and the chief executive of Almac.

Mr McGuinness said: “I know that I will echo the thoughts of many when I say that we have not only lost a wonderful businessman but also a true gentlemen”.

It’s a shame to see such a great man pass.

Safe Agra?

A Canadian pharmaceutical company based in Toronto, ‘Squid Technologies’ has announced the progress of a pill that will pack duel roles. The small pill will be made so that males can take it as an oral contraceptive and also a treatment for erectile dysfunction, (like Viagra).

The Tablets which shall be known as ‘Safe-agra’ have been being tested during the last 18 months in Vancouver, and have resulted having 99.5% effectiveness and 99.8% satisfaction rate. (Men & Woman).

However, there have been a few downfalls among women’s groups. Gloria Steincowitz of N.O.W. (the National Organization of Women) said “What’s next? Are they going to combine this with ruffies so that you can drug a woman into a stupor, get an erection and rape her, and then have no resulting child to worry about, and no way to find the man?”

Squid Technologies offices in Canada, the United States, and London have been swamped with phone calls and messages from fascinated men and women. Marketing analysts believe that distribution of this pill will be the most popular medical progress of the past 100 years, passing such similar inventions as the Pill and Viagra (and also Rogaine). Thousands of men have said that they would be “up to giving this a try.”

Minster surges on agreed bid

The New Year started extremely well for Mister Pharmaceuticalswhen agreeing to a take over by Proximagen for £4.3 Million.

Shares rose 1.68p to 5.8p in the developer of drugs for neurological and psychiatric disorders after proximagen said that it would pay 6p a share for the group.

Proximagen were down 1p to 109p and raised £50 million last year to follow its strategy of buying smart drug programmes.

John Russell, Minster’s chairman and chief executive, said” I thought the offer provided a more certain investment outcome for shareholders given that the group’s prospects, without the funding it needs to progress its business plan, were very uncertain”.

Dr Kenneth Mulvany, the chief executive of Proximagen, said “I was particularly interested in Minster’s tonabersat compound, bought from GlaxoSmithKline, which he thinks has the potential for the treatment of epilepsy”.

Novartis to buy big stake in Alcon

A large swiss company called Novartis said yesterday that it would be taking control of Alcon, Eye Care Company by purchasing a majority stake from Nestle at the amount of $28.1 billion, raising its on to 77%, eventually they would also like to acquire the rest.

Collectively with the $10.4 billion paid by Novartis for it last year and nearly $11.3 billion of its own shares which is presenting minority shareholder for the final 23% of Alcon, it is set to be the biggest most expensive merger in Swiss History.

The company is approaching further into the eye care industry hoping to benefit from Alcons, Pharmaceutical, surgical and consumer eye care business lines which benefitted a $6.3 billion in 2008 sales alone.

Raymund Breu, chief financial officer of Novartis, said in an interview that the eye-care business had “higher growth rates than many other franchises in the health care sector’’ and that the market expected eye care to stay elevated for another five years.

“There is little overlap between the businesses,’’ said Eric Althoff, a spokesman for Novartis, explaining that he did not anticipate antitrust issues because Alcon was more concentrated in surgical treatments, and Novartis in pharmaceutical treatments and consumer products. Among Novartis’s more well-known eye products are GenTeal eye drops, Zaditen Ophtha for seasonal allergies, and Nyogel for ocular hypertension.

Patch up for Mexico.

Pharmaceutical Companies in the United States have approached a new way to get people new medicine for tummy problems when flying to Mexico. It is a common fact that when people travel to this country its likely to get an upset stomache.

Pharmaceutical companies are offering free holidays to 900 volunteers, to eat drink and see if they become ill whilst in Mexico or Guatemala. The holidays on offer are worth $1,000 and are inclusive including 3 star hotels. The travelers can roam where ever they please, just aslong as they are not more than 3 hours away from the test centre, which is where they must provide blood and stool samples if they become sick.

Previously to them flying out to the countries, which can cause stomache upset due to water problems and different things to what people are normally used to in other countries, they have to wear a patch for 6 hours, 3 weeks before. They also have to wear another patch 1 week before they fly out, after this all they have to do is fly out and see what happens.

Results have shown so far that the drug has actually reduced the incident of an upset stomache by 75%, it is only in America at present but will be brought over to UK in the near future.

MCI norms to clip ‘tourist’ docs’ wings

The medical council of India has banned the practitioners from being at events or seminars which are financed but PharmaceuticalCompanies.

“A medical practitioner shall not accept any travel facility inside the country or outside, including rail, air, ship, cruise tickets, paid vacations etc, from any pharmaceutical or allied healthcare industry or their representatives for self and family members for vacation or for attending conferences, seminars, workshops, etc,” reads the MCI (Professional Conduct, Etiquette and Ethics) (Amendment) Regulations, 2009.

During 2009, there were important medical events held which attracted 10,000 or more doctors, who came along with some of their family members, which ended in a big “tourist turnout”.

Happy New Year from Hanningfield

Hanningfield Process Systems would like to take this opportunity to wish everyone a Happy New Year.

We hope you had a wonderful Christmas and are looking forward to the new decade.

2010 is a very exciting year for Hanningfield and we look forward to further building relationships with customers, suppliers, agents and anyone else whom we have the pleasure of working with.

We hope to hear from you regarding any new projects or requirements and look forward to the pleasure of working with you.

Best wishes, everyone at Hanningfield Process Systems