Pharmacy Voice has welcomed the long awaited pregabalin guidance from NHS England.

Rob Darracott, chief executive of Pharmacy Voice, said: “It is a relief to see NHS England publish the long-awaited guidance on pregabalin today. Pharmacy teams were being unfairly placed in a difficult position if they received a prescription for generic pregabalin when the diagnosis was for neuropathic pain.

"The guidance emphasises that the prescriber should prescribe by brand (Lyrica) in these circumstances. This will help minimise the legal risk for pharmacy teams and avoid delays for patients getting their medicine. The issue is a complicated mix of patent and trademark legislation and medicines licensing issues, and Pharmacy Voice wanted to help ensure both that prescribers are properly advised by the authorities and that the message is consistent across CCGs.”

The latest court ruling proposed that NHSE issue guidance to GPs and CCGs requesting that they prescribe by brand for pain. The generic pregabalin in the marketplace from two suppliers is licensed for use in generalised anxiety disorder (GAD) and epilepsy and, as a result, package inserts do not have information on treatment for pain.

The guidance can be found here.