Monday 27th April 2009

Pharmacy Daily Monday 27th April 2009 T 1300 799 220 W www.pharmacydaily.com.au page 1

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UK dUK dUK dUK dUK drrrrrug budug budug budug budug budget cutget cutget cutget cutget cut THETHETHETHETHE British government hasoutlined a revised PharmaceuticalPrice Regulation Scheme (PPRS) aspart of its annual budget which wasdelivered last week. The changes will see spendingcut on branded pharmaceuticals,with a targeted £550m reductionslated for 2010-11 through a 3.9%reduction in prescription drug priceswhich became effective 01 Feb thisyear, and a further cut of 1.9% from01 Feb 2010.

Enterprise barEnterprise barEnterprise barEnterprise barEnterprise bargaininggaininggaininggaininggainingpact for pharpact for pharpact for pharpact for pharpact for pharmacymacymacymacymacy NANANANANATIONALTIONALTIONALTIONALTIONAL Pharmacies lastmonth finalised a CertifiedAgreement with the Association ofProfessional Engineers, Scientists &Managers Australia (APESMA)which saw pharmacist employeesgaining a 5.5% pay increase. Currently the deal is the onlyEnterprise Bargaining Agreement inplace in community pharmacy, butAPESMA Pharmacists DivisionPresident, Geoff March, told PDthat “wee feel that this workplacerelations instrument should be usedmore widely simply as it providesthe opportunity for both employerand employees to talk though andagree upon what things best suitthem.” As well as the pay rise effective16 Mar, the deal includes furtherannual increases from 01 Dec 09and 01 Dec 10; it also ensurespayment for travel for reliefpharmacists, as well as for mealbreaks where required on site. “A pleasing aspect of theagreement is the recognition byNational Pharmacies of the up-skilling and specialty services thatemployee pharmacists canprovide,” March said. “Pharmacists conducting HomeMedication Reviews or Reviews inResidential Aged Care Facilitiesreceive a special rated of pay,payment for training, registrationcosts, provision of specifiedresources and a travel allowance.” March said the advent ofcentralised administration by manypharmacy owners is an opportunityto arrange EBAs which suit bothemployee pharmacists and owners. National Pharmacies operates 35outlets in South Australia as well as23 in Victoria and one in NSW.

PBS rPBS rPBS rPBS rPBS reimbursments up 18%eimbursments up 18%eimbursments up 18%eimbursments up 18%eimbursments up 18%

Dispensing erDispensing erDispensing erDispensing erDispensing errrrrror kilor kilor kilor kilor killllllsssss21 pol21 pol21 pol21 pol21 polo ponieso ponieso ponieso ponieso ponies A PHARMAA PHARMAA PHARMAA PHARMAA PHARMACYCYCYCYCY in the USA hasadmitted incorrectly preparing aspecial nutritional supplement for21 polo ponies which caused themto collapse and die in front of thecrowd at an internationaltournament. Franck’s Pharmacy in Ocala,Florida said it mixed the medicationon the orders of a veterinarianworking for the Venezuelan poloteam, with an internal investigationconcluding that the strength of oneof the ingredients was incorrect. Reports say the horses started todie as they were unloaded fromtheir trailers, falling to the groundon the lawns in front of onlookers. Apparently the Venezuelan teamusually uses a manufacturedsupplement, but in this case went toa compounding pharmacy toobtain the medication.

RGH E-BulRGH E-BulRGH E-BulRGH E-BulRGH E-Bulllllletinetinetinetinetin THISTHISTHISTHISTHIS week’s edition of theRepatriation General HospitalPharmacy E-Bulletin gives anoverview of the Respimat Soft Mistinhaler, which uses mechanicalpower from a spring rather thanpropellants to provide metereddoses of medication. The inhaler is currently thesubject of Phase 3 clinical trials inAustralia; copies of the bulletinfrom chris.alderman@rgh.sa.gov.au.

Diabetes apprDiabetes apprDiabetes apprDiabetes apprDiabetes approvalovalovalovaloval THETHETHETHETHE Therapeutic GoodsAdministration last week approvedJanumet (sitagliptin/metformin) forthe treatment of type 2 diabetes. The medication is the world’s firstand only tablet combining adipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP-4)inhibitor, sitagliptin, with metformin. It’s been approved as an adjunctto diet and exercise to improveglycaemic control in patients withtype 2 diabetes inadequatelycontrolled on metformin alone.

MEDICMEDICMEDICMEDICMEDICAREAREAREAREARE Australia paid out$1.963 billion in PBS and RPBSreimbursments during the first threemonths of the year, up 18% on the$1.652 billion paid out during theprevious corresponding period. Overall prescription numbers rose14% to 51.4 million during thequarter, but there was a muchfaster rise in the number of scriptsfilled under the PBS Safety Net,which grew from 9.7 million in thefirst three months of last year tomore than 13.3 million so far in2009 - an increase of 37.5%, whichsome are attributing to the pooreconomic situation. The figures come as the govt isreportedly considering bringingforward PBS reforms in the budget,with reports earlier this month

suggesting that prices on up to 100popular medicines could be cut. A story in Saturday’s Australianalso suggested that the govt mayconsider caps on the Safety Net aspart of measures to rein in budgetspending as the global financialcrisis bites into revenue. The increase may not be assignificant as inidcated by thestatistics, with the figures affectedby the timing of claims processing,as well as Easter falling in Marchlast year which would have reducedthe number of days available forclaims in the period.

CorCorCorCorCorum incentiveum incentiveum incentiveum incentiveum incentive CORUM CORUM CORUM CORUM CORUM Health is promoting itsnew integrated EFTPOS facility withan incentive offering freeAmbassador Cards, valued at$199, to the first ten people toaccurately complete an online entryeach day this week at its websitewww.corumhealth.com.au/dynamicpages.aspx?cid=100.

Alcohol ad changesAlcohol ad changesAlcohol ad changesAlcohol ad changesAlcohol ad changes THETHETHETHETHE Ministerial Council on DrugStrategy last week agreed anumber of measures aimed attackling binge drinking, which willnow be considered by the Councilof Australian Governments. Recommendations includechanges to the existing AlcoholBeverages Advertising Code whichwould force mandatory pre-vettingof all alcohol advertising. The ministers resolved to askCOAG to consider calling onindustry to stop producing ready todrink (RTD) beverages combiningalcohol with energy drinks, as wellas reducing alcohol content inRTDs and ceasing the use ofalcohol masking agents such assweeteners in the products.

Monday 27th April 2009

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AN ENVIRONMENTAN ENVIRONMENTAN ENVIRONMENTAN ENVIRONMENTAN ENVIRONMENTALLALLALLALLALLYYYYY friendlyhairdresser in China has set animportant example in recycling bycreating a detailed model of aBeijing landmark out of haircollected in his shop. Huang Xin took more than fivemonths and 11kg of hair to makethe model of the Tiananmen GateTower which is almost 1m wideand 60cm high. He said he only used women’shair because it was softer,washing and drying the offcutsbefore gluing it onto paper androlling it into different shapes tomake the scale model. Huang said he also previouslyused human hair to make amodel of Beijing’s famous Bird’sNest Olympic stadium.

SCIENTISTSSCIENTISTSSCIENTISTSSCIENTISTSSCIENTISTS from Scotland’sGlasgow University have createda special microchip which canautomatically detect malaria. Blood samples are placed ontothe integrated circuit, which scansit and provides a diagnosis. If malaria is confirmed, the chipalso detect the strain of thedisease meaning treatment canbe optimised to target the specificcondition being suffered. The chip is being built into newdiagnostic equipment which cangreatly improve processing speedfor suspected malaria samples.

THETHETHETHETHE health-giving benefits of apost-prandial siesta are beingtouted by the operator of a new‘catnap cafe’ in the westernFinland city of Turku. Dubbed Naphouse, the cafehas been created by Jeremy Mast,who said “the idea came to me ina restaurant when I felt a bitsleepy after a meal.” Customers wanting a bit of asnooze are given slippers, a pillow,a blanket and an optionalteddybear before they enter aspecial nap room, which has beanbags and mattresses on the floor. The cafe also doubles as an artgallery and an activities workshopfor indolent young people, andwas built using funding from theEU’s youth culture budget.

Mirixa minfos linkMirixa minfos linkMirixa minfos linkMirixa minfos linkMirixa minfos link PHARMAPHARMAPHARMAPHARMAPHARMACYCYCYCYCY software vendorminfos says its sysxtem will providea direct link with the PharmacyGuild’s Mirixa platform when itgoes live in June this year. Minfos manager Matt Lalor saidsome of the company’s 650+pharmacy clients across Australiawould begin beta testing the Mirixasystem in the coming weeks. “We realise the importance ofmaking the Mirixa system availableand we have worked extensively toensure the system will functionseamlessly with the minfossoftware,” he said. The Mirixa Pro platform providesa basis for running a range ofprograms which can delivertargeted clinical services topatients, help manage medicationuse and improve compliance,promote safety and control costs. Minfos is the latest vendor toconfirm seamless integration withthe Mirixa system. More info 1800 657 993.

UK tobacco pushUK tobacco pushUK tobacco pushUK tobacco pushUK tobacco push THETHETHETHETHE Royal PharmaceuticalSociety of Great Britain has signedon to a campaign which is urgingthe banning of vending machinesales of cigarettes. The proposals, which are part oflegislation coming before the UKHouse of Lords this week, wouldalso see tobacco products placedout of sight in shops. “Smoking cessation is the mostcommon enhanced serviceprovided by pharmacies in Englandand Wales,” the RSPGB said.

Swine inflSwine inflSwine inflSwine inflSwine influenza waruenza waruenza waruenza waruenza warningningningningningPBAPBAPBAPBAPBAC outcomesC outcomesC outcomesC outcomesC outcomes THETHETHETHETHE full list of recommendationsmade by the PharmaceuticalBenefits Advisory Committee at itsmeeting last month has beenpublished online at the PBS website. There were 58 positiverecommendations, ranging fromnewly approved medications andadditional strengths through toadditional indications for a numberof existing products. A number of the positivedecisions were made for Section100 (Highly Specialised Drug)listings, while there was alsoapproval of a new regime for WyethAustralia’s Enbrel (etanercept)injection to allow for continuoustreatment in the management ofchronic plaque psoriasis. There were eight “first timedecisions not to recommend,”including declining a request toamend the current AuthorityRequired listing for smokingcessation product Champix(varenicline) by adding a notesaying that a registration numberfor support and counsellingprograms is not required; and anadditional criterion that a patientshould have an appointment for afollow-up consultation. SIx items were the subject ofsubsequent decisions not torecommend, including Genzyme’sMyozyme (alglucosidase), MerckSerono’s Erbitux (cetuximab) (PDPDPDPDPDFri), Alexion’s Soliris (eculizumab),Nutricia Australia’s Lanaflex,Solvay’s Duodopa (levodopa withcarbidopa monohydrate) andAbbott’s Zemplar (paricalcitol).

COMMUNITYCOMMUNITYCOMMUNITYCOMMUNITYCOMMUNITY pharmacies acrossAustralia are likely to be in the frontline of any local propagation of anoutbreak of influenza whichoriginated in Mexico but appears tohave already spread to other parts ofthe world including New Zealand. Cases have been confirmed in theUSA, where the governmentovernight announced the release ofa quarter of its stockpile ofinfluenza medications includingTamiflu (oseltamivir) and Relenza(zanamivir), both of which havebeen shown to work against viralsamples of the new strain. The World Health Organisationhas warned that human-to-humantransmission of the virus is possible,with fears that it could develop intoa global pandemic. The virus is being described as anew subtype of A/H1N1 whichhasn’t previously been detected ineither pigs or humans. The Centers for Disease Controlsaid treatment with the antiviralsshould commence within 48 hoursof onset, but also said that 19 outof 20 US cases thus far confirmed

recovered without treatment. Vaccine development targetingthe new strain is under way but willtake some months, the CDC said. No cases have been reported inAustralia at this stage, and theDepartment of Foreign Affairs andTrade is advising travellers whohave visited Mexico recently toconsult health professionalsimmediately if they develop flu-likesymptoms. Chief Medical Officer Jim Bishophas also written to GPs andhospitals around the country toalert them of the virus and itssymptoms.