Business

‘Ponzi scheme’ pharmacist gets life sentence for husband’s murder

 
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A West Virginia jury has recommended that no “mercy” be shown to a pharmacist found guilty of murdering her husband to stop him from discovering her Ponzi scheme.

WBA suspends dividends to ‘improve cash flow’ in 90-year first

 
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Boots’ parent company has halted its quarterly stockholders’ dividend pay-out in a move aimed at “strengthening WBA’s balance sheet”.

‘Immense pressure’: Managers impose Pharmacy First targets

 
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The PDA has revealed that three-quarters of pharmacists have been pressured to undertake Pharmacy First consultations, while the same proportion warned they cannot “safely deliver” the service.


WBA stock tumbles amid reports that sale deal is ‘dead’

 
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Boots parent company Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA) has seen its shares plummet amid reports that its talks to “sell itself” to a private equity firm are “mostly dead” and unlikely to result in a sale.

Property round-up: Sales, openings, planning permissions, and very efficient robots...

 
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What happened in the community pharmacy market last month?

Pharmacists must not rely on ‘sale of cosmetics’, says Lord

 
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Pharmacists should be used to their “full potential” to make a “bigger” contribution to public health rather than being asked “to rely on the sale of cosmetics”, a member of the House of Lords has argued.


AAH: Pharmacies ‘incorrectly charged’ £2k for £45 drug

 
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CPE has urged pharmacies to “check your invoices” after some were wrongly charged almost £2,000 per pack against NHS prescriptions for cholesterol-lowering medication Inclisiran.

Pharmacy closed by GP landlord ‘without notice’ after rent row

 
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An Exeter pharmacy was left locked out of its premises by its GP landlord following months of negotiations over “extortionate” rental costs, C+D has learned.

Pharmacy ‘ghost sign’ uncovered by new ‘escape room’ tenants

 
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A ‘ghost sign’ for a pharmacy that traded over a hundred years ago has been uncovered on an escape room’s shopfront during a refurbishment.


NHSBSA may ‘withhold’ payments amid Pharmacy First claims probe

 
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The NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) has warned that it will investigate Pharmacy First claims, with payments only made to pharmacy owners whose claims are found to be “lawful”.

‘Danger to life’: Storm Éowyn shuts down NI pharmacies

 
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Storm Éowyn has temporarily shut down some Northern Irish pharmacies after the Met Office issued a red weather warning that “represents a likely danger to life and severe disruption”.

Government-funded pharmacy to rent out consultation rooms

 
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A pharmacist has received a six-figure loan from the Welsh government to open a new pharmacy with rentable consultation rooms for other “independent contractors”.


Two thirds of pharmacy owners want to buy or sell in 2025, reveal pharmacy brokers

 
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68% of UK pharmacy owners surveyed by pharmacy brokers Christie & Co want to “buy and/or sell” in 2025, as the average price of pharmacies sold and asking price achieved in 2024 both dropped according to a new report.

Boots parent company losses plunge to $265m in first quarter

 
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Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA) has revealed that its losses increased 296% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2025.

NI extends free flu jabs to over-50s as other nations rule out move

 
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Northern Ireland has become the only country in the UK to extend its NHS flu vaccination programme to the 50-64 age group amid increasing pressure on hospitals.


P2U, Jhoots, Enimed: Who made the biggest profits and losses?

 
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As we enter the new year, pharmacies have filed their annual accounts – with reports ranging from “satisfactory” profits to multimillion-pound losses...

Pharmacy closures will place ‘great strain’ on GPs, RCGP warns

 
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The GP body has warned that “any closures” in the pharmacy network will add pressure to GPs “struggling to meet demand”.

‘We have no choice’: Dutch pharmacies strike for second time in two months

 
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Close to 2,000 pharmacies are taking part in a two-day national strike calling for “higher wages” and “lower work pressure” less than two months after their previous strike.


Pharmacy First consultation payment caps rise up to 94%

 
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New caps on the maximum number of paid Pharmacy First consultations have begun this month, rising between 55% and 94% across different types of pharmacies.

‘Horrifying’: Pharmacy Access Scheme fails to prevent 58 closures

 
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NPA analysis has revealed that the £20 million Pharmacy Access Scheme funded by the pharmacy contract failed to protect dozens of isolated pharmacies from closing since 2022.