New report boost for $1bn clinical trials industry : 07/03/2011 :

The Federal Government’s Clinical Trials Action Group Final Report was released last week at the Medicines Australia Parliamentary dinner by the Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research Senator Kim Carr. Acording to Medicines Australia the report clears a path for Australia to become more competitive in attracting global R&D investment.

The Clinical Trials Action Group was set up in October 2009 to help boost Australia's position as a preferred destination to conduct clinical trials. The Group's report carries more than 20 recommendations, largely aimed at improving patient recruitment and introducing a more efficient process of initiating new clinical trials in Australia.

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RGH E-Bulletin: Tocilizumab for rheumatoid arthritis : 07/03/2011 :

The topic of this week's RGH E‑Bulletin is Tocilizumab for rheumatoid arthritis.

"Recent years have seen significant advances in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA), including the development of biological drugs targeting cytokine mediators such as tumour necrosis factor (TNF) and interlukin 1 (IL-1). Interlukin 6 (IL-6) is a new target for biological therapy in rheumatoid arthritis. IL-6 is a cytokine involved in the inflammatory cascade and is implicated in acute and chronic inflammatory responses. Elevated levels of IL-6 contribute to the inflammatory process in patients with rheumatoid arthritis and correlate positively with disease activity."

Click here to read the bulletin in full. The E‑Bulletins are archived on the AusPharmList website here.

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GSK to disclose payments to healthcare professionals : 05/03/2011 :

GlaxoSmithKline announced yesterday its intention to publish, by June 2011, the total amount of fees paid to Australian healthcare professionals for speaking and consulting services during 2010.

The final figure will include all grants, donations, consultancy fees and sponsorships made to healthcare professionals for research programs, advisory committee work and educational projects. This figure will be updated and made available publicly on a regular basis.

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'Bad decision' says Medicines Australia Chair : 04/03/2011 :

Speaking at the Medicines Australia (MA) parliamentary dinner this week MA Chair Will Delaat said that MA was extremely concerned to see the Government’s announcement last Friday that Cabinet had deferred the listing of seven new medicines on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme and, further, that ALL new submissions to the PBS will require Cabinet approval, not just those costing over $10m a year.

The deferred listing of the seven medicines came despite advice from the Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee – the Government’s own clinical and health economics experts Mr Delaat pointed out – that the medicines were value for money and should be listed.

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Wages declining? : 04/03/2011 :

This week's well patronised poll asked 'listers what the going rate for an employee pharmacist is in their area.

There appears to have been little movement in rates since the last time we looked at this in July 2009. If anything, there has been a slight trend towards lower rates of pay with 15% of respondents reporting a rate of $30 an hour or less in 2011 vs 10% in 2009. This extra 5% seems to have come from the $36-$45/hr band.

We'll run this poll once a year from now on.

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Whooping cough coverage a worry : 04/03/2011 :

A survey released this week by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare showed that almost 75% of Australians aged 65 years and older received an influenza vaccination in 2009, and almost 55% were vaccinated against pneumococcal disease.

Older Australians are a target group for these vaccinations because they are at increased risk of serious complications and death from the two infections.

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Latest edition of NPS RADAR out now : 04/03/2011 :

The April edition of NPS RADAR for 2011 has been published on the NPS website. It contains reviews of:

• Adapalene with benzoyl peroxide (Epiduo) for severe acne vulgaris
• Dutasteride (Avodart) for lower urinary tract symptoms due to benign prostatic hyperplasia
• Nicotine patches (Nicabate P, Nicorette, Nicotinell Step 1) for smoking cessation
• Varenicline (Champix) for smoking cessation

NPS RADAR provides independent, evidence-based assessment of new drugs, new PBS listings and the latest research for doctors, pharmacists and other health professionals.

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Pharmacy students ready to immunise : 03/03/2011 :

Over three quarters of pharmacy students in a recent survey supported pharmacy based immunisation with over 80% of respondents indicating a desire to be involved in delivering services should immunisation programs be expanded to include pharmacists.

The survey also determined that students see the the major barrier to immunisation as inadequate training.

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AusPharm CE: RGH E-Bulletin Digest No. 33 : 03/03/2011 :

The next in our 2011 series of continuing education activities is the RGH E-Bulletin Digest No. 33.

This CE activity assesses your understanding of four recent RGH Pharmacy E-Bulletins (Volumes 40-12 - 41-3  -->  January - February 2011).

After completing this activity, pharmacists should be able to:

• Compare the clinical pharmacology of rivaroxaban and dabigatran
• Discuss potential hazards associated with co-prescription of benzodiazepines and opioids
• Describe important factors to consider when considering the use of beta blockers for patients with COPD
• Outline relevant considerations regarding the connection between statin treatment and nightmares

Click here to do this Continuing Education activity. Or, if you prefer, you might like to take a look at our other CE activities here .

AusPharm gratefully acknowledges the financial support provided by MIMs.

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Footy tipping on again in 2011 : 03/03/2011 :

Australia's only online footy tipping competition for pharmacy begins again in March with the kick-off of PHARMeFOOTY tipping for the Australian Football League and National Rugby League.

If you were a registered member of Medici Capital & Fred Health PHARMeFOOTY last year, you don't need to re-register, you just need to reactivate your account, here. If you haven't previously been part of PHARMeFOOTY tipping, you can register here.

PHARMeFOOTY is a free, on-line tipping service sponsored by Fred Health and Medici Capital.

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Poll: employee pharmacist wages : 02/03/2011 :

Almost two years ago, we ran this same poll - given the regular discussions on AusPharmList since then about pharmacist wages it's timely to run it again. We've  edited it slightly to reflect minor changes in pharmacy practice since the last poll. On Friday we'll publish an analysis and compare it to the 2009 result.

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New AIHW asthma site : 02/03/2011 :

The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) has launched new information on its website which aims to make asthma statistics more accessible and easier for consumers to understand. 

The new web page addresses questions such as: ‘Who gets asthma?’ ‘What drugs are used to treat asthma?’ and ‘How does asthma affect quality of life?’ It shows that there were more than 37,500 hospitalisations for asthma in 2007-08, and 385 deaths due to asthma in 2007.

Take a look for yourself here.

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Half of Australians don’t know what’s in their pain medicines : 02/03/2011 :

NPS says that health professionals need to spend more time talking to patients about active ingredients, following the release of new research that shows consumers are largely confused about what’s in many common over-the-counter pain relief medicines.

Of 502 research poll respondents who had taken an over-the-counter or prescription medicine in the past three months, 80% said they had taken an over-the-counter analgesic. When respondents were asked to name the active ingredient in the analgesic they had taken, there was notable confusion.

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Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods website upgraded : 01/03/2011 :

The Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods (ARTG) website has been revamped to make searching easier. The ARTG website lists all therapeutic goods approved for use in Australia.

According to Parliamentary Secretary for Health and Ageing, Catherine King “This is an important advance which will benefit consumers, health professionals and the industry."

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The dangers of driving with Glaucoma : 01/03/2011 :

To coincide with this year’s World Glaucoma Week (March 6-12), Glaucoma Australia is educating Australians about the significant impact Glaucoma has on driving. Glaucoma Australia says sufferers are up to four times more likely to have a car accident than the average Australian.

Glaucoma is known as the ‘silent thief of sight’; it is the second leading worldwide cause of irreversible blindness, and if left undiagnosed and untreated it can significantly impact a person’s life.

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NPS evaluation report : 01/03/2011 :

NPS's latest evaluation report provides a detailed review of each NPS program for health professionals and consumers.

NPS CEO Dr Lynn Weekes said the report shows NPS has successfully engaged different audiences via multiple channels, and provides invaluable information for the development of future programs.

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Here's an opportunity for for a BYT: Members Sought for Preventive Health Advisory Council : 28/02/2011 :

Individuals with expertise in preventive health have been invited to express their interest in joining the Advisory Council of the Australian National Preventive Health Agency to assist in the fight against chronic disease.

According to Minister for Health and Ageing Nicola Roxon, “Keeping people healthy and out of hospital is a key focus for the Gillard Government and we want to bring together the best expertise in the country to tackle chronic disease.”

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More on PBS NRT : 28/02/2011 :

After publishing the result of our poll last week which showed widespread frustration amongst pharmacists about the problems experienced with the PBS Feb 1 rollout of nicotine replacement therapy we had this in over the weekend from an industry source:

"For industry, 2 months notice (with the Christmas break in between) is not a lot of time to get their manufacturing sorted. Even though the PBAC recommended listing in Feb and again in June last year, approval was not given and, with the election in between, we had come to believe that listing would not happen at all. So the 1st December announcement was a surprise. Usually there is 4 months between a listing announcement and the listing taking place. It's no wonder there have been hiccups!"

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New members sought for Therapeutic Goods Committee : 28/02/2011 :

The Therapeutic Goods Administration is seeking to fill positions on the Therapeutic Goods Committee (TGC) with relevantly skilled persons. The TGC is the expert committee which provides advice to the Minister for Health and Ageing on standards for therapeutic goods, including requirements for labelling, packaging and principles to be observed in the manufacture of therapeutic goods for human use.

Nominations are being sought from bodies that represent a range of industry sectors and expressions of interest are also being sought from individuals in a number of specified fields including Community or hospital pharmacy practice.

Full details are on the TGA website here.

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PBS numbers down : 28/02/2011 :

PBS statistics for January 2011 have been released by Medicare Australia.

They show a decline in both script numbers (-18%) and absolute dollars (-8%) compared to January 2010. This follows a similar decline for December 2010 compared to December 2009.

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