Author: Selina McKee

SkyePharma’s shares were given a hefty boost yesterday after the company announced that a late-stage trial of Flutiform was a success, paving the way for the drug’s filing in Europe during the first quarter of next year.

The government is reportedly intending to make primary care trusts pay for patients to receive private care if hospitals fail to meet its infamous 18-week referral to treatment target.

UK drugmaker Shire has posted a mixed bag of results for the third quarter of the year as strong growth of its core products was masked by plummeting sales of its attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder drug Adderall XR.

An investigation by the Care Quality Commission has revealed that the exchange of information on patient medication between hospitals and GPs is often “patchy, incomplete and not shared quickly enough,” and warns that trusts must get up to scratch to meet its criteria for registration next year.

The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence has issued final guidance recommending the use of Eli Lilly and Daiichi Sankyo’s clot buster Efient on the National Health Service, but only under certain conditions diminishing the number of patients eligible for treatment.