Tuesday 17 July 2012

Pharmacy Daily Tuesday 17th July 2012 T 1300 799 220 W www.pharmacydaily.com.au page 1

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PharmacyLIVE regos PSA NSW president John Brongerhas announced the opening ofregistrations for the upcomingPharmacyLIVE 2012 event, whichwill take place at the SebelParramatta 09-10 September. Featuring four streams over twodays, Bronger said the conferenceis “the way pharmacists can gain abusiness and professional edge asthey move forward in the newpharmacy environment”. Topics covered include thedemystification of governmentincentives and the financial rewardsof professional services which“make clear that service provisionis the exciting future for communitypharmacists and their teams”. Earlybird rates close on 17 Aug -for more info call 02 9431 1100.

Not us, says Apotex APOTEX has joined a number ofother generic companies in denialthat it’s initiated the 25% price cutfor atorvastatin which is set tobecome effective 01 Dec (PD yest). Alphapharm and Ranbaxy havealso denied the move, along withAscent, Generic Health, Spirit,Stada, Southern Cross Pharma andSandoz. Pfizer hasn’t responded to anenquiry from PD at this stage, butappears to be the only sponsor notto deny initiating the cut. In a statement issued yesterdayApotex said the 25% cut hastriggered an ad-hoc review of theStatins Higher Potency group whichwould make atorvastatin thebenchmark drug. It will also see rosuvastatin have a20.81% price reduction to equalthat of atorvastatin if no furtherpricing proposals are made. “Please note that Apotex has noinformation to suggest that theabove price reductions are relatedto the currently in process general‘statin’ review that aims to reviewthe prices of all statins currentlylisted on the PBS,” the firm said.

FDA OKs HIV drug THE US Food and DrugAdministration has for the first timeever approved a drug which aims toprevent the spread of HIV. Truvada (emtricitabine/tenofovirdisoproxil fumarate) is indicated for‘pre-exposure prophylaxis’ (PrEP) incombination with safer sexpractices to reduce the risk ofsexually-acquired HIV infection inadults at high risk. Previously Truvada had beenapproved in combination withother antiretrovirals for thetreatment of HIV-infected people. PrEP will see uninfectedindividuals take Truvada daily tolower their chances of infection ifthey are exposed to the virus.

New council to advise TGA THE government yesterdayannounced the establishment of anew Australian Therapeutic GoodsAdvisory Council, which will“provide broad strategic advice tothe Therapeutic GoodsAdministration, with an emphasison improving communicationsbetween the regulator and its keystakeholders”. Parliamentary secretary forHealth and Ageing, Catherine King,said the council would comprise upto 12 members providing expertadvice from consumers, healthprofessionals and industry. It will be chaired by Chief MedicalOfficer, Prof Chris Baggoley, and itsmembership is likely to be finalisedby early September, with a view toits first meeting held in the lastquarter of 2012.

King said that while the TGA wasregarded internationally as a world-leading regulator, but wasperceived by some in Australia asbeing “too inaccessible”. “The government is determinedto change that and I know the TGAalso wants to make its vital work ofsafeguarding the health ofAustralians more transparent”.

DDS diabetes program DISCOUNT Drug Stores (DDS) haslaunched a new free testing servicefor diabetes, on offer at all itsstores this month. The Discount Drug StoresDiabetesRisk AssessmentProgramme will see pharmacistsuse a combination of the govt’sAusDrisk tool plus a unique waistmeasurement system to assess riskof developing type 2 diabetes basedon age, ethnicity, gender and diet.

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Tuesday 17 July 2012

Weekly CommentWeekly CommentGuild Update

EDITORS Bruce Piper and Amanda Collins EMAIL info@pharmacydaily.com.au ADVERTISING Magda Herdzik EMAIL advertising@pharmacydaily.com.au page 2

MedsCheck rolloutTHE national rollout of theMedsCheck and DiabetesMedsCheck is well underwaywith the Department ofHuman Services (Medicare)now processing serviceprovider applications.

Pharmacies should notprovide services until thepharmacy has received writtenapproval from Medicare.

Please note that approval asa MedsCheck Services Providerenables the pharmacy toprovide both MedsCheck andDiabetes MedsCheck services.

To support the nationalrollout, information andresources have beenprogressively released over thepast few weeks includingprogram specific guidelines,the service providerapplication form, paymentapplication form, professionalguidelines and frequentlyasked questions (FAQs).

These are available from theFifth Community PharmacyAgreement website atwww.5cpa.com.au/medscheck

The FAQs – Getting Startedis a useful starting point.

Also, by 31 July allpharmacies should receivepromotional material,including posters, patientleaflets and consumerbrochures for the MedsCheckservices.

For all 5CPA information andresources visitwww.5cpa.com.au or contactthe 5CPA Help Line by calling1300 555 262 or via email onsupport@5cpa.com.au.

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SCIENTISTS in the UK haveconducted an extensive researchproject into the TV show TheWeakest Link, finding that humanslike to be nice to their neighbours. The program sees contestantscompete in rounds, at the end ofwhich they then vote to eliminateeach other. The researchers from theUniversity of Lincoln examined 72shows and found that peoplewere less likely to vote out thosestanding next to them. “We found strong evidence of a‘neighbour avoidance effect’which supported our predictionthat spatial proximity wouldinfluence players’ decision-making,” said Dr Paul Goddard,senior lecturer from the school ofpsychology. The team said that TV shows arean ideal forum for observing socialbehaviour, according to the BBC.

A CYSTIC fibrosis charity was thewinner, but a man’s lawn wasdefinitely the loser, after hedecided to make his huge yardlook nice for a fundraiser. Rob Olson from Minnesota inthe USA was set to host theannual Breathe Easy musicfestival, with proceeds to benefitthe Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. However in the process ofmaking preparations hepurchased five bottles of pesticidewhich he had hoped would killsome pesky clover and bindii. Unfortunately he didn’t read thelabel properly, liberally applyingthe weedkiller all over the 40,000square foot lawn which promptlyturned brown and died. And next year’s event is alsounder threat, because the productused, Ferti-Lome, not onlypromises to kill lawns but preventthem from being reseeded for upto six months. In 2011 Olson raised more than$20,000 for the cause, which he’sinvolved in because his two sonssuffer from the condition.

US drug deal US generics manufacturer ParPharmaceutical Companies hasannounced a definitive agreementto be acquired by an affiliate ofventure capital firm TPG for $1.9b. Par also operates StrativaPharmaceuticals, developing andmarketing “high barrier-to-entrygeneric drugs and niche, innovativeproprietary pharmaceuticals”.

New mental health framework THE Pharmaceutical Society ofAustralia yesterday released a newconsultation paper titledDeveloping a framework forpharmacists as partners in themental health care team. Developed in consultation with anexpert steering committee chairedby Dr Julie Stokes, the documenthas input from pharmacy andmental health organisations as wellas the medical, nursing, psychiatryand psychology professions plusconsumers and carers. The framework examines theservices provided by pharmacists inthe delivery of mental health care,as well as future opportunitieswhich are categorised in fourphases: health promotion; earlydetection and intervention;minimising illness; and maximisingrecovery. It’s the first stage of a largerproject being undertaken by thePSA to integrate pharmacists’ skillsinto the mental health care team. The views of the community are

now being sought on the paper, onwhat consumers, carers, healthpractitioners and stakeholderorganisations would like to seepharmacists contribute in theprovision of mental health care. Submissions are invited by 24August 2012, with the PSAanticipating that the finalframework will be launched at thePharmacy Australia Congress whichwill be held in Melbourne in Oct. The consultation paper is onlineat psa.org.au/archives/13109.