Business

Beirut: a pharmacy during conflict

 
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How do pharmacies continue with their business amid the pressure of war? C+D talks to a Beirut pharmacist about working during a conflict.

Pharmacy ‘may not survive winter’ as pharmacist MP urges govt to avoid 'past 14 years' of mistakes

 
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CPE data shows 96% of pharmacy owners are “concerned” or “very concerned” that “their business may not survive this winter” as Sadik Al-Hassan MP is “eager to see this government avoid mistakes made during the past 14 years that have brought our sector to a crisis point”.

CVS slapped with nationwide lawsuit over ‘unlawful’ opioid prescriptions

 
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The US DOJ has filed a lawsuit against CVS alleging its “actions helped to fuel the opioid crisis” as it “prioritized corporate profits over patient safety”.


Streeting and Kinnock say it will be a ‘New Year’ start for pharmacy contract negotiations

 
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Health secretary says funding negotiations will begin “shortly in the new year” as pharmacy minister says the delay is because negotiations “did not get over the line before the general election”.

Pharmacy First 'enormously successful', says CCA

 
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The CCA’s Nick Thayer says Pharmacy First has been “enormously successful” in its first year and he expects 2.5 million consultations by the end of March 2025.

Boots remains tight-lipped over ‘fresh auction’ rumours

 
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Boots parent company Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA) has remained taciturn amid fresh rumours that it is in talks to “sell itself” to a private equity firm in the new year.


NHSE launches 24/7 support for ‘overwhelmed’ pharmacists

 
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NHS England (NHSE) has launched a “confidential 24/7 text support service” for pharmacists who are feeling “worried or overwhelmed” and need someone to speak to.

Third of US pharmacies have closed in a decade, study reveals

 
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Almost 30% of US retail pharmacies closed in the decade between 2010 and 2021, a new study has revealed.

CPE ‘united in anger’ as pharmacy contract negotiations ‘stuck’

 
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CPE has expressed “severe frustration and intense anger” as it reveals that pharmacy contract negotiations are “stuck” between the Department of Health and Social Care (DH) and NHS England (NHSE).


Employers ‘forcing’ pharmacists to be DPPs amid ‘two-tier’ IP system

 
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Some pharmacies are “forcing employees to be designated prescribing practitioners (DPPs)” while DPPs at “one large multiple” are not “routinely prescribing themselves”, Pharmacists’ Defence Association (PDA) members have warned.

‘Ye Oldest Chymist Shoppe in England’ on the market for £125k

 
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England’s “Oldest Chymist”, now a café and gift shop, is available for “offers around £124,950”, an estate agent has revealed.

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Pharmacy2U takeover of LloydsDirect approved after safety concerns

 
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The NHS has accepted Pharmacy2U’s application to take over the ownership of LloydsDirect, after previously refusing it earlier this year.


High street pharmacies ‘extinct’ by 2039 at current closure rate

 
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New analysis of pharmacy closure data has found that pharmacies “will cease trading” within 15 years if nothing is done to stop closures.

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Day Lewis launches pharmacist manager ‘co-ownership’ scheme

 
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Day Lewis has announced the launch of a “joint venture scheme” allowing pharmacist managers to become co-owners of their pharmacy.

Pharmacy contract limbo: Have negotiations finally resumed?

 
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The pharmacy sector has been left in limbo since its five-year funding deal came to end in April, but after delay upon delay to negotiations, are we any closer to a new deal?


Boots warns Chancellor budget will cause ‘inevitable’ job losses

 
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Boots has signed a letter to the Chancellor stating that the “sheer scale of new costs” introduced by the budget – including a rise in employer national insurance contributions (NICs) and the national living wage – will “make job losses inevitable”.

‘Immediate need’: Council mulls temporary pharmacy in shipping container

 
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A proposal for a temporary pharmacy in a shipping container has been submitted to address an “immediate need” while a “permanent location” is under development.

CAT upholds £62m Pfizer fine for gouging NHSE with ‘unfair’ epilepsy pill prices

 
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An appeal tribunal has upheld almost £70m in fines for two companies’ “illegal behaviour” that upped NHS spending on phenytoin sodium capsules by £48m in a year.


Government to cut pharmacy business rates from 2026

 
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The government has introduced draft legislation to “permanently cut business rates” for pharmacies and other high-street retailers from 2026 as it continues to come under fire over its recent budget tax hikes, it has revealed.

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Pharmacy ‘files case in High Court’ over Pharmacy First suspension

 
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A Wembley pharmacy is “actively preparing” a legal case after being suspended from the Pharmacy First service, C+D has learned.