The Ministry of Consumer Affairs (now part of the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment) has discovered that some baby bottles being sold in New Zealand have inaccurate volume indicator markings on them.

The bottles tend to be unbranded and sold in low-cost or discount stores.

The Pharmacy Guild of New Zealand (the Guild) has worked with the Ministry of Health to offer a solution for caregivers who may be worried that their bottles could have incorrect markings.

Caregivers are advised to visit their local community pharmacy, where a pharmacist or other staff member will be able to check bottle volume markings using trade-standard measuring equipment, and mark a corrected volume where appropriate.

“Pharmacists are the health professional people see most often and are easily accessible within the community” said Guild Chief Executive, Lee Hohaia.

“This means pharmacists are ideally positioned to offer this service to caregivers, and at the same time, are able to give advice and support to those who may find they have bottles with inaccurate volume measurements”.

The Ministry of Health does not recommend that caregivers use kitchen measuring equipment to verify the markings on baby bottles since these are not accurate enough to measure the small amounts of fluid involved.

European standard EN14350 stipulates that the 100ml mark on baby bottles must be accurate to within 5%. Some New Zealand-sold bottles meet this standard, but they tend to be better known, more expensive brands.

Further public information is available on the Ministry of Health website: http://www.health.govt.nz/baby-bottle-markings
http://www.health.govt.nz/baby-bottle-markings-qaa
http://www.health.govt.nz/media-releases/baby-bottle-markings

ENDS
Media contact: Sarah Pritchard 04 802 8211
Notes:
• The Pharmacy Guild of New Zealand (Inc) is a national membership organisation representing community pharmacy owners. We provide leadership on all issues affecting the sector and we advocate for the business interests of community pharmacy.
• For additional information on the Guild and community pharmacy, please go to www.pgnz.org.nz.

Health Minister Tony Ryall visited the newly reopened St Martins Pharmacy in Christchurch today where he announced over 45,000 New Zealanders have benefited from new and more accessible medicines in the past six months.

“Since 2009, 83 new medicines have been added to the community pharmaceutical schedule and become government-funded and access to 84 medicines has been widened,” said Mr Ryall

“This number will continue to increase with $10 million being invested in new medicines this financial year.

Over the last three years, an average of 132,000 New Zealanders, many with serious medical conditions including cancer, whooping cough and osteoporosis, benefit from the new and more accessible medicines each year.

“Helping New Zealanders get the medication they need is a priority for this government and we are committed to expanding the medicines available. 

Since 2008, funding for community and cancer medicine has increased by $180 million – the total budget is now over $780 million.

The University of Otago has appointed an internationally leading expert on vaccine formulation and delivery to its Chair in Pharmaceutical Sciences. Sarah Hook, currently an Associate Professor in Otago's School of Pharmacy, will take up her professorial position in the School in February 2013.

Associate Professor Hook is one of the few researchers in the world who have both a deep understanding of immunology and the ability to develop novel drug and vaccine formulations.

Her particular research interest is in the formulation and delivery of small and large molecule cancer therapeutics, including a vaccine for melanoma. She also investigates skin and oral-based vaccine delivery systems which may help make needle vaccinations a thing of the past.

She is a member of the Centre for Translational Cancer Research, one of the University's 14 officially designated research centres.

Associate Professor Hook has been successful in attracting both competitive research funding and industry contracts. In the last 10 years she has been principal investigator or associate investigator on grants worth more than $7 million. She has a number of national and international collaborations including with groups in Europe, USA, Japan and Australia.

An Otago graduate, Associate Professor Hook gained a BSc (Hons) in 1989 and a PhD in Immunology in 1996. She was a Research Fellow at Wellington's Malaghan Institute of Medical Research from 1997 to 2001, when she joined the School of Pharmacy as a lecturer. The majority of the papers that she has had published since then have appeared in top pharmaceutical science journals with herself as the senior author and group leader.

Associate Professor Hook has been primary supervisor or co-supervisor for 11 PhD students who have gone on to postdoctoral positions in academia and industry.

University Vice-Chancellor Professor Harlene Hayne says she is delighted that Associate Professor Hook has been appointed to the Chair.

"Not only does Sarah have an impressive teaching and research record, she also has a strong focus on working with industry to ensure her internationally leading investigations lead to real-world health benefits," Professor Hayne says.

School of Pharmacy Dean Professor Stephen Duffull says the School is excited that Associate Professor Hook is taking on the leadership role in pharmaceutical sciences, which is one of the School's three sections along with clinical pharmacy and social pharmacy.

"Sarah's expertise in biopharmaceutical sciences will herald a change in direction of the School from more traditional formulation aspects of pharmaceutical sciences to biopharmaceutical sciences. Biopharmaceutical sciences provide the link between the formulation of therapeutics and how they act at a biological level."

Associate Professor Hook says she hopes to build on the collaborative research environment within the School of Pharmacy.

"Our focus will be utilising the expertise we enjoy in the design, synthesis, formulation, delivery, pre-clinical and clinical evaluation of novel therapeutics to develop new drugs to prevent and treat infectious and non-infectious disease."

She also aims to collaborate with other New Zealand-based research groups in both academia and industry to develop cancer therapeutics which can undergo clinical trials in New Zealand.

Three months after being awarded the role of sole supplier of diabetes blood glucose testing meters and strips in New Zealand, Pharmaco today confirmed the start of phase two of the roll-out programme for its CareSens range of products.

Starting 1st December the CareSens range of blood glucose meters will be the only meters funded by PHARMAC.  Funding for other brand test strips will continue until 1st March 2013, when the complete sole supply agreement commences for CareSens meters and strips.

Since the announcement confirming Pharmaco as the sole supplier, in excess of 48,000 meters have been distributed, more than 1,200 medical centres, retail pharmacists and hospital diabetes centres have been  educated about the new meters and strips, and more than 1,500 calls have been managed by the company’s dedicated helpdesk.  In addition to this, PHARMAC has held 30 introduction events to date, called “Meet Your Meter”, as part of its nationwide meter swap and education campaign involving pharmacists, clinicians, and community and consumer groups.

Pharmaco’s co-Chief Executive Officer, Chandra Selvadurai, says the roll-out programme is on schedule to deliver the right meters to the right people across New Zealand by the deadline to become Sole Supplier in three months time:

“We are in the middle of our national training and roll-out programme which has continued to gain momentum.  Working closely with PHARMAC we have achieved a lot but we also have a lot more work to do,” he says.

“During the next three months we will continue to roll-out the CareSens range of meters to people with diabetes across the country who need to switch or require the new meters and strips.  We will also be continuing to work closely with PHARMAC, DHB diabetes and medical centres, pharmacists and Maori and Pacific Island health providers to provide the best technology, education and support to people with diabetes who rely daily on these products to manage their health.

“The national education programme is on track to achieve all its goals by the beginning of March next year and we are also looking forward to continuing our support to the community in years to come,” he says.

Pharmaco’s specialist business unit, Pharmaco Diabetes Solutions, is managing the supply, sales, support and distribution of three meters from the CareSens range, all of which are fully funded:  CareSens N POP, CareSens N and CareSens II, as well as their associated strips.  It is also distributing one unfunded meter, the CareSens POP.

Mr Selvadurai continues:  “As a New Zealand company that’s been in existence for 45 years we are very aware of the impact of diabetes on the community not only for those who live with diabetes but also their families and friends.  We have invested significantly in reaching this stage with the belief that the sole supply arrangement brings with it more responsibility to provide the best service and products.”

Supporting the transition is a dedicated website at www.caresens.co.nz  and a toll-free customer service number at 0800 GLUCOSE (0800 458 267) or for health professionals at 0508 CARESENS (0508 227 373).  The website features detailed product information, roll-out timetable, questions and answers, and product demonstration videos, all of which supports the national education programme.

Many New Zealanders are not getting free prescriptions when they should and these people are likely to include our most vulnerable, new findings from an ongoing University of Otago and Victoria University study into equity in prescription medicine use suggest.

Most people pay $3 per medicine when they pick up their prescription from the pharmacy but after paying for 20 prescription items in a year, individuals or families are supposed to be exempt from this charge.

Using anonymous data from community pharmacy computers, the research team identified individuals who had more than 20 items dispensed to them in a year and found that the majority were from the most socio-economically deprived areas. The researchers' analysis showed that 40% percent still paid the prescription fee for 90% of the medicines they got, after they should have been entitled to the exemption.

Associate Professor Jackie Cumming from Victoria University says "In fact the average amount people paid for medicines hardly dropped at all after they reached 20 items."

PHARMAC data shows that 180,000 people pay for prescriptions after they should be exempt. This costs patients about 2.5 million dollars a year.

Otago's Dr Simon Horsburgh says that these data are likely to underestimate the extent of the problem because the exemption should apply after a family has had 20 items. "Neither our study or PHARMAC can identify families from the data, so these estimates are based on individuals. Because many of these people will have family members who also get prescriptions they should be receiving free prescriptions after fewer than 20 items."

Standard charges for prescription medicines will go up from $3 to $5 in January 2013. This should mean that the maximum that families will be required to pay will be $100 per year.

However, Professor Pauline Norris says "Given that the exemption after 20 items does not seem to work in practice, people with multiple health problems, who use a lot of prescription medicines, will potentially have to pay much more than that". She points to New Zealand and overseas studies which show that prescription charges lead to less use of medicines and poorer health outcomes.

Exemption for the prescription charges requires people to have a Prescription Subsidy Card, to have one main pharmacy, to collect receipts from any other pharmacies they visit, and take these to their main pharmacy.

"Many people may not know about the card, they might visit multiple pharmacies, or pharmacists may not be aware of family relationships. Vulnerable people, such as those with multiple health problems, the elderly and people with low health literacy may particularly struggle with these bureaucratic procedures. These are the very people who we need to ensure get the health care they need," Professor Norris says.

Old medicines are a risk to yourself, your family and your visitors. Like food, medicines can go off if kept for any length of time. Plus, you should only use recently prescribed medicines as that prescription from last year might not be appropriate now.

During November 2012, another DUMP campaign (Disposal of Unwanted Medicines through Pharmacies) will be held.  In the last campaign, 9,882 items were returned to pharmacies for disposal. These medicines and packaging weighed 346kg (imagine a pile of 346 pineapples for an equivalent amount of medicines). The cost of these medicines was about $55,000 – equivalent to three hip replacement operations or 13 cataract removals.

The 2009 and 2010 campaigns, funded by Nelson Bays Primary Health, also provided information on the type of medicines returned, which helps to target medicines more effectively and reduce waste. There are many reasons why medicines are not taken, such as “the symptoms got better” or “the doctor changed the medicine” or “it made me feel worse”.

So this November is the perfect time to spring-clean that bathroom cupboard. For more information please contact your local pharmacy or Caroline Allen on Ph. 03 539 1651 or 0800 731 317 or Email caroline.allen@nbph.org.nz

Researchers in New Zealand are inching closer to the development of the first effective oral vaccine to protect against tuberculosis - a disease which still kills more people worldwide than any other bacterial disease.

A new study, led by Dr Joanna Kirman from the University of Otago’s Department of Microbiology, has found that in mice, an innovative oral vaccination formula can induce stronger and longer-lasting immune response compared to the current needle vaccination against TB.

In New Zealand there are about 600 notifications of the disease each year, with 300 new cases diagnosed.

For an oral vaccine to work, the bacteria need to be alive. This problem is overcome with the development by Dr Frank Aldwell and colleagues from University of Otago-based Immune Solutions Ltd of a lipid formulation called LiporaleTM,  , a formula that coats the BCG bacteria, allowing them to survive the harsh environment of the stomach.

Dr Kirman and colleagues Dr Aldwell, the Malaghan Institute’s Fenella Rich , and University of Otago PhD student Lindsay Ancelet, compared the immune response in the spleen and lungs of mice vaccinated with the new formulation, LiporaleTM-BCG, to the response from the traditional injected vaccination.

“LiporaleTM-BCG vaccination induced a long-lived immune response, evident by the detection of increased numbers of tuberculosis-specific T cells in the lungs and spleen up to 30 weeks after vaccination,” Dr Kirman says.

“These results demonstrate that orally delivered LiporaleTM-BCG vaccine induces a long-lived multi-functional immune response, and could therefore represent a practical and effective means of delivering new BCG-based TB vaccines.”

These promising results are published today in the peer-reviewed open access international journal, PLOS ONE

Dr Kirman says the oral vaccine, potentially delivered as a syrup or pill, would be easier to administer. Most importantly, it targets the mucosal immune system - a network of the gut and respiratory tract where the immune response is regulated differently from the systemic response triggered by injected vaccines.

TB causes more deaths worldwide than any other bacterial disease.  Latest estimates from the World Health Organisation show that in 2010, 8.8 million people became ill with TB and 1.4 million people died, mostly in developing countries including Africa, South-East Asia, Eastern Europe and the Western Pacific.

Dr Kirman says antibiotic resistance to tuberculosis is also increasing.

“In 2010 New Zealand had its first case of extensively drug-resistant TB (XDR) which is incredibly difficult, and sometimes impossible, to treat.  That is why we think prevention through vaccination is so important.”

Dr Kirman says the researchers are hoping the vaccine will attract more Health Research Council funding to further understand this immune response and to undertake the necessary safety tests. In addition, the not-for-profit product development organization, AERAS, dedicated to the development of effective tuberculosis vaccines in the US, has undertaken to conduct further tests on the vaccine.