Pharmacists need to improve medicines adherence so the NHS is able to afford innovative treatments in the future, the Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) has said.

The NHS was currently paying a "double whammy" of costs to buy drugs and then treat patients who did not take them correctly, said Christine Bond, chair of the RPS's science expert advisory panel.

Pharmacists needed to help the NHS cut these costs so it could incentivise pharmaceutical companies to invest in more expensive but less profitable medicines, said Professor Bond at the launch of an RPS report on the better use of medicines last week (May 8).

In the future, pharmaceutical companies would no longer be able to rely on "one-size-fits-all" or "blockbuster" medicines that can be prescribed to most patients, the RPS said in its report. Instead, manufacturers needed to be encouraged to develop medicines that eradicate symptoms in specific groups of patients, it said.

The RPS said that in the future, pharmaceutical companies would no longer be able to rely on "one-size-fits-all" medicines	More on medicines adherence COPD patients to be monitored in their homes as part of EU pilot Future of discharge medicines reviews secured in Wales
	Developing new medicines was a "costly and lengthy process" and new funding mechanisms wer needed to ensure that manufacturers also continued to invest in new short-term drugs to combat the increasing number of infections that are resistant to existing antibiotics, the RPS added.

Professor Bond said research had shown pharmacists were more "alert" than other healthcare professionals to spotting and preventing unnecessary adverse drug reactions, which would bring down NHS costs and allow the health service to spend more of its budget on these new medicines.

Although there was no "single bullet" to tackle medicine non-compliance, helping patients to understand more about their medicines was key. The early evaluation of the new medicine service had shown the benefits of pharmacists discussing medicines with patients, said Professor Bond, who is also professor of primary care at the University of Aberdeen.

If manufacturers developed personalised medicines targeted at specific patient groups, then these could also help increase adherence, she added.

The RPS made seven recommendations in its report, which called for more evidence to prove the effectiveness of pharmacy services, the development of innovative medicines and a reduction in the unnecessary use of antibiotics. The public must also be educated about new medicines, and more investment was needed in pharmaceutical science education, the RPS said.

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