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Communications International Group recognised the very best in support for pharmacy from manufacturers at this year's SMART Awards

Reckitt Benckiser achieved the gold standard in an amazing six different categories at the SMART Awards, including all three of the reader-voted categories open to it, including the top prize of Best Overall Company.

Sponsored by Numark, the twelfth annual SMART Awards took place in Birmingham on February 13 to acknowledge and celebrate the tremendous support healthcare companies provided community pharmacy during 2013.

Pharmacy Magazine editor, Richard Thomas, told guests: €The SMART Awards are about applauding the very best in support from the industry for community pharmacy and bringing both together for the benefit of patients and consumers. This year the standard of entries was higher than ever.€

Tough competition

Reckitts beat off tough competition to pick up the Best Product Promotion Award for Gaviscon Double Action, as well as jointly winning the award for Best Professional Services Support with the Independent Pharmacy Federation for their Which? workshop programme.

The judging panel, which consisted of 22 expert judges from all parts of the profession, were particularly impressed by the programme's reach, timeliness and emphasis on the training needs of the whole pharmacy team.

Omega Pharma was also celebrating after taking away the prestigious Best OTC Medicine Training Award for its Lyclear training programme.

Myriam Mizouni, Lyclear brand manager, said that she was €delighted€ with the win, and added that the brand was €committed to continuing our investment into the head lice category and supporting pharmacy teams in giving appropriate information and advice on the best ways to manage head lice infestations€.

Congratulations also went to GlaxoSmithKline for providing the Best Support for Multiple Pharmacy and Salonpas (Ceuta Healthcare on behalf of Hisamitsu Pharmaceutical), which was named Best OTC Medicine Launch.

Reader votes

As always, readers of Pharmacy Magazine and its sister titles Training Matters, P3, Independent Community Pharmacist and Beauty Magazine got the chance to have their say in four reader-voted awards. This year brands and companies had to enter these categories in order to make the shortlist from which readers took their pick via voting forms and online.

Thanks to our reader votes, Teva was named Best Generics Company, while Reckitt Benckiser secured three more wins, including Best Support for Independent Pharmacy and Overall Brand for Nurofen, as well as topping off its winning streak with the most coveted award of all €“ Best Overall Company.

Commenting on RB's success, Yvette Davies, national field sales strategy director, Reckitt Benckiser, said: €We are delighted to have picked up so many prestigious awards at the recent SMART Awards. It means a great deal to us that our sales, marketing and training programmes we develop specifically for community pharmacy have been recognised, and we look forward to continuing with this support during 2014 and beyond.€

Special recognition

While the SMART Awards focus on the marketing and training programmes of manufacturers, this year's event also included two special awards of commendation.

Firstly, the National Pharmacy Association, and PAGB and Pharmacy Voice, were jointly awarded for their respective campaigns: 'Come to Pharmacy First' and 'Treat Yourself Better', in acknowledgement of the positive publicity they generated for the pharmacy sector.

In addition, Brook Pharmacy in Halifax, which became a Level 2 accredited Healthy Living Pharmacy in 2012, received the Best Independent Community Pharmacy Healthcare Innovation Award, sponsored by the NPA.

€It was an honour to be awarded in recognition of the work we have done in serving our community over the years,€ Sandra Cooper, pharmacist at Brook Pharmacy, told PM.

Finally, Andrew Clark, trading controller pharmacy & dental, GlaxoSmithKline, was honoured with the Terry Norris Award for Services to Pharmacy for his outstanding contribution to the sector.