Community Pharmacy Scotland chair Martin Green has hailed a £14m rise in purchase profits under the country’s latest contract as a watershed moment for the sector.The increase offset a “not particularly thrilling” uplift in the Scottish global sum, Mr Green told C+D.Extending the profit cap will allow contractors to invest extra cash in improving pharmacy services, the Community Pharmacy Scotland chair said.  Mr Green said:  “If we had developed a model like this when we first introduced purchase profits, pharmacy would be a very different place.” The system allows pharmacists to make more than £50m in purchase profits for the first time since 2005, Mr Green said. This signalled an official recognition that capping buying profits was “unacceptable”, the Community Pharmacy Scotland chair stated. The entrance of new generic drugs to the market had eroded buying margins, Mr Green said. Mr Green added: “What we’re saying is they’ll be money generated by the industry and we’re asking you [the government] to plough that money back in.” Under the 2009-11 funding deal announced last October, contractors can split profits in excess of £64m with NHS boards. Repeated savings under this Efficient Purchasing and Prescribing Programme could be recognised in future funding deals. The overall global sum in Scotland will rise 1.9 per cent in 2009-10 and 1.6 per cent in 2010-11.