Boots Company Research Articles

Pharmacokinetics And Bioavailability Of Ibuprofen Tablets Produced by AKRKHIN Company (Russia) In Comparison With Ibuprofen Tablets Produced by BOOTS Company (Brufen Tablets, England).

Ten healthy male adult volunteers aged 20-40 years and of weight 55-75 kgm administered in empty stomach and in two occasions under same conditions 200 mg of ibuprofen tablets produced by AKRKHIN company (Russia) and 200 mg of ibuprofen tablets produced by BOOTS company (England). Statistical comparison of the pharmacokinetic parameters including the absorption half-life, the elimination half-life, the time to reach maximum concentration of the drug in serum and the maximum concentration of the drug in serum between the above companies indicated insignificant differences. Moreover it appeared that ibuprofen tablets produced by AKRKHIN company (Russia) is bioequivalent to the ibuprofen tablets produced by BOOTS company (England).

Fifty years since the discovery of ibuprofen

It is now 50 years since the discovery of the pharmacological effects of the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) ibuprofen, and over 40 years since its introduction to clinical use as a prescription drug for the treatment of arthritic pain and inflammation (Adams 1987; Rainsford 1999, 2003). The initial discovery of the anti-inflammatory effects of ibuprofen in guinea pigs was made on 19 December 1961 by Dr. (now Professor) Stewart Adams, OBE (Fig. 1), the late Dr. John Nicholson (who was the chemist who synthesized the drug), and Mr. Colin Burrows at the Boots Co., Nottingham, UK (Rainsford 1999). The development of ibuprofen by the Boots Company, UK, was based on the need to have a safer form of aspirin (a “Super Aspirin”) without its gastro-intestinal effects, and also without the serious adverse effects of phenylbutazone and corticosteroids; these drugs being the principal anti-inflammatory agents available at the time (Adams 1987; Rainsford 1999).

Bioequivalence assessment of two formulations of ibuprofen.

Background:This study assessed the relative bioavailability of two formulations of ibuprofen. The first formulation was Doloraz®, produced by Al-Razi Pharmaceutical Company, Amman, Jordan. The second forumulation was Brufen®, manufactured by Boots Company, Nottingham, UK.Methods and results:A prestudy validation of ibuprofen demonstrated long-term stability, freeze-thaw stability, precision, and accuracy. Twenty-four healthy volunteers were enrolled in this study. After overnight fasting, the two formulations (test and reference) of ibuprofen (100 mg ibuprofen/5 mL suspension) were administered as a single dose on two treatment days separated by a one-week washout period. After dosing, serial blood samples were drawn for a period of 14 hours. Serum harvested from the blood samples was analyzed for the presence of ibuprofen by high-pressure liquid chromatography with ultraviolet detection. Pharmacokinetic parameters were determined from serum concentrations for both formulations. The 90% confidence intervals of the ln-transformed test/reference treatment ratios for peak plasma concentration and area under the concentration-time curve (AUC) parameters were found to be within the predetermined acceptable interval of 80%–125% set by the US Food and Drug Administration.Conclusion:Analysis of variance for peak plasma concentrations and AUC parameters showed no significant difference between the two formulations and, therefore, Doloraz was considered bioequivalent to Brufen.

Investigating customer perceptions of refillable packaging and assessing business drivers and barriers to their use

AbstractA collaborative UK government‐funded research project drawing on the design and sustainability expertise of the Department of Design and Technology at Loughborough University and the sustainability and product bank functions at The Boots Company set out to investigate the potential that refillable packaging systems can offer the consumer and the environment. In the past, refills have generally been categorized under one general heading and often branded as a failure. However, early in the project, the team identified that by taking a creative approach to interpreting refills, there are actually a wide range of different types of refills that can be differentiated with respect to their delivery approach and level of consumer/business interaction. Once these had been identified, collated and categorized, the team set out to investigate the consumer perceptions, and the business barriers and drivers found to influence the adoption and success of a number of different types of refillable packaging. This paper reports on those findings. It concludes that differentiating between refill types holds the key to developing more suitable and more successful refillable packaging systems as positive and negative attributes can be more accurately identified and responded to. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Pensions and Capital Structure

This paper considers the pension plan as part of the capital structure of the sponsoring employer. This enables lessons from financial theory concerning capital structure to be used to answer the question, “What assets should a pension fund hold?” The standard Modigliani-Miller framework is expanded on to consider the implications of corporate tax. This leads to the conclusion that bond investment for pension plans has tangible advantages over holding risky assets (e.g., equities). The paper considers a case study of the pension plan of the Boots Company, a U.K. pharmacy retailer with a pension fund of around £2.3 billion ($3.5 billion), where these ideas were put into practice. Finally, the paper discusses the value released to shareholders and the extra security members of the pension fund have derived from putting theory into practice.

The Boots Books for Babies Project: Impact on Library Registrations and Book Loans

The Boots Books for Babies project was a partnership between The Boots Company, Nottingham City Council, Nottinghamshire County Council and Nottinghamshire Health Visitors.The project’s stated aims were to deliver book packs to the parents or carers of babies attending hearing checks at local health centres, via the health visitor, usually at around nine months old, in order to increase awareness among parents and carers of the importance of sharing books with babies, and to increase the registration of babies with local libraries and use of the library service. Over the period of the roll-out of the project (1998–2000), in libraries associated with the project, the total number of babies under 2 years old registering as library members rose by 54%. Baby registrations for a comparison group of 7 libraries showed an increase in baby registrations in a similar period of 6%, concentrated in the first 4 months of the year. Over the last 9 months of the year, the number of baby registrations in non-project libraries was lower than in 1998. Health visitors, other health care workers and library staff were very supportive of the project’s goals and willingly gave extra time to support the project. Many respondents spontaneously shared the view that the project’s work should be continued and sustained, and it has since attracted supplementary funding to continue this work.

Dr M. Elisabeth Sharpe

Dr M. Elisabeth Sharpe, who died last year, was Editor of the Journal of Dairy Research from 1975 to 1989. During this period she devoted her considerable energies and talent to putting the Journal on a sound financial footing and expanding its contributions from authors in the developing world. Becky, as she was known to her friends and colleagues, was highly successful in both these goals and the Journal continues to build upon her success to this day.Her editorship was the culmination of a notable scientific career, full of achievement and friendships. Born in 1916 in Barnsley, Yorkshire, Becky Sharpe completed her BSc degree at University College London in 1937 and went on to a year of postgraduate study in microbiology at the University of Manchester. She then joined the staff of the National Institute for Research in Dairying, Shinfield, an Agricultural Research Council Institute and a part of the University of Reading. She left in 1942 for a 4 year stint with The Boots Company in Nottingham and returned to Shinfield for a 30 year period of exemplary research in dairy microbiology in the Department of Bacteriology.The Department had a tremendous group of researchers and was a really exciting place for many of us to start our careers working with people like Becky Sharpe, Bruno Reiter, Frank Neave and Christina Cousins. Becky interacted with many of us over her career, and her research resulted in hundreds of publications and contributions to the scientific literature on the microbiology and microflora of milk and dairy products. She is probably best remembered for her work on staphylococci, micrococci and the lactobacilli. Often she pioneered the development of new techniques for the growth, isolation and identification of these Gram-positive organisms. She was especially pleased with her work as a contributor and editor for Bergey's Manual of Systematic Bacteriology, which continued after retirement. She received her PhD from the University of Reading in 1951 and a DSc degree from the University of London in 1973.On a more personal note, the author remembers Becky as a generous and stimulating scientific colleague. She was always willing to listen to the ideas of a young and inexperienced scientist and offer help and advice. She was highly respected and well known in the world of dairy microbiology, and many outstanding microbiologists either worked with her or trained under her. Her laboratory was a favoured stop for researchers from across the globe.After retiring from active research in 1976 she remained very active in scientific circles. Her Editorship of the Journal was a major commitment, but she was also an active participant in scientific society activities, particularly as a fellow of the Institute of Biology. Her numerous scientific contributions, and the health and international flavour of the Journal speak to her professional accomplishments. Her friendship and help will be fondly remembered and missed by all of those fortunate enough to have worked with her.

Partnerships ‐ a view from The Boots Company plc

Attempts to raise some of the sometimes unconsidered factors involved in partnership work that may hamper success. Aims, by examining one company’s approach and proposing a few ideas, to stimulate further thoughts and hopefully initiate discussion about the way forward. Particularly important is the need for co‐ordination at national level. The process of matching national needs to those of individual organizations to enable a more strategic approach is the key issue.

Boots' new energy centre

The Boots Company has operated a power station on the Beeston site in Nottingham for over 60 years. A new energy centre has been designed, constructed and commissioned. The energy centre provides all electricity, steam, compressed air and medium-pressure hot water for the site. Some conceptual and detailed decisions resolved during the project are outlined, including matters relating to plant selections, equipment specification, and control and monitoring philosophy.

5380656 Chymopapain and method of purifying it on an inhibitory dipeptide affinity column : Barrett Alan J; Buttle David J; Rich Daniel H Cambridgeshire, United Kingdom Assigned to The Boots Company PLC

5380656 Chymopapain and method of purifying it on an inhibitory dipeptide affinity column : Barrett Alan J; Buttle David J; Rich Daniel H Cambridgeshire, United Kingdom Assigned to The Boots Company PLC

5380656 Chymopapain and method of purifying it on an inhibitory dipeptide affinity column : Barrett Alan J; Buttle David J; Rich Daniel H Cambridgeshire, United Kingdom Assigned to The Boots Company PLC

5380656 Chymopapain and method of purifying it on an inhibitory dipeptide affinity column : Barrett Alan J; Buttle David J; Rich Daniel H Cambridgeshire, United Kingdom Assigned to The Boots Company PLC

5380656 Chympapain and method of purifying it on an inhibitory dipeptide affinity column : Barrett Alan J; Buttle David J; Rich Daniel H Cambridgeshire, United Kingdom Assigned to The Boots Company PLC

5380656 Chympapain and method of purifying it on an inhibitory dipeptide affinity column : Barrett Alan J; Buttle David J; Rich Daniel H Cambridgeshire, United Kingdom Assigned to The Boots Company PLC

Partnerships – A View from The Boots Company PLC

Attempts to raise some of the sometimes unconsidered factors involved in partnership work that may hamper success. Aims, by examining one company′s approach and proposing a few ideas, to stimulate further thoughts and hopefully initiate discussion about the way forward. Particularly important is the need for co‐ordination at national level. The process of matching national needs to those of individual organizations to enable a more strategic approach is the key issue.

Viewpoint '91

Viewpoint '91 Get access R. N. HILL, R. N. HILL Chief Medical officer Fisons plc 12 Derby Road Loughborough Leicestershire LE11 0BB Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic PubMed Google Scholar A. R. REID A. R. REID Chief Medical officer The Boots Company plc Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic PubMed Google Scholar Occupational Medicine, Volume 41, Issue 3, AUTUMN 1991, Page 144, https://doi.org/10.1093/occmed/41.3.144 Published: 01 October 1991

Changes in extracellular 5-HT and 5-HIAA levels in the presence of BTS 54505 measured by in vivo microdialysis: [formula omitted], K.F. Martin ∗, R. Mason and W.R. Buckett ∗, Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Medical School, Queen's Medical Centre, Nottingham, U.K. and ∗Research Department, The Boots Company PLC, Nottingham, U.K.

Changes in extracellular 5-HT and 5-HIAA levels in the presence of BTS 54505 measured by in vivo microdialysis: [formula omitted], K.F. Martin ∗, R. Mason and W.R. Buckett ∗, Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Medical School, Queen's Medical Centre, Nottingham, U.K. and ∗Research Department, The Boots Company PLC, Nottingham, U.K.

Murine models of chronic inflammation

Acute rodent models such as the carrageenan edema and the ultraviolet light edema tests of inflammation, and the phenylbenzoquinone writhing test of analgesia have been instrumental in the discovery and development of nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) for treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The usefulness of these models has been validated in the clinic. The search for drugs to treat arthritis currently is focused on models for identifying drugs which may treat the chronic aspects of the disease. On September 26, 1985 the Inflammation Research Association met at the New York Academy of Sciences to discuss several murine models of chronic inflammation to access their contribution to an understanding of the human disease and their potential utility for discovery of new therapy for RA. The methylated bovine serum albumin (mBSA) model of antigen-induced monoarticular arthritis was first described in the mouse by Brackertz in 1977. Although attention has been primarily focused on the Dumonde-Glynn monoarticular arthritis rabbit model for identifying penicillamine-like drugs, the difficulty of doing extensive studies in the rabbit has led to a resurgence of interest in the mouse model, both for studying mechanisms of the arthritis and potential therapeutic agents. Dr Ian M. Hunneyball (Boots Company, Nottingham, England) presented his findings on the effects of antiarthritic drugs in the mouse model compared to the rabbit model. Drug effects were determined by examining the pathology of the knee joint, specifically the extent of synovitis and bone erosion. NSAIDs (flurbiprofen, ibuprofen and indomethacin) did not inhibit the murine arthritis. As in the rabbit arthritis, corticosteroids (prednisolone and dexamethasone) inhibited synovitis and erosion in the mouse knee joint. Moreover, sulphasalazine (but not sulphapyridine), dapsone, and immunosuppressants (azathioprine, methotrexate and cyclosporin A) inhibited both the synovitis and bony erosions. In the rabbit immunosuppresants, but not sulphasalazine, were active. While NSAID, corticosteroids and immunosuppressants have similar activities in both the rabbit and the mouse, Dr Hunneyball showed that disease-modifying antiarthritic drugs (DMARDs) had a unique profile in each of the two models: d-penicillamine and gold were therapeutic in the rabbit but without effect in the mouse model. Chloroquine was inactive in both models. Because of size and ease of handling, the mouse model would appear to be more adaptable to the discovery of novel therapeutic agents than the rabbit. Moreover, the profile of antiarthritic drugs in the mouse may indicate that this model may be best used for identifying therapeutic agents with unique mechanisms. Dr Wim B. van den Berg (University Hospital, St Radboud, Nijmegan, the Netherlands) reported his mechanistic studies in the mBSA model. He showed that BSA made cationic by methylation (mBSA) or amidation (aBSA) deeply penetrates the dense hyaline cartilage and is retained in the mouse knee joint in higher amounts and for longer periods than other antigens. Chargemediated antigen retention in the joint was demonstrated to be an important factor in the chronicity of the inflammation as shown by 99mTc uptake in the joint and by histological evaluation. Oxygen radicals and hydrogen peroxide (H202) were considered as potential mediators of the mBSA arthritis. When the respective inactivating enzymes, i.e. superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase were made cationic, only catalase suppressed the arthritis. Catalase was also effective in

INDUSTRY

Tough pumps for Boots. A contract to supply 14 corrosion‐resistant pumps for the new production facility at The Boots Company plant in Cramlington, Northumberland, has been won by BTR Silvertown. This new order will bring the total number of BTR Ardua pumps at Cramlington to 24.

Neurotensin-like immunoreactivity in some preparations of secretin and cholecystokinin.

Commercially available cholecystokinin (CCK) from the Boots Company, Nottingham and to a lesser degree CCK from the Gastrointestinal Hormone Research Unit of Karolinska Institute Stockholm and from Kabi Diagnostica, Studsvik, and also secretin from the Boots Company have been found to contain neurotensin-like immunoreactive contamination. As neurotensin is able to stimulate pancreatic secretion, this admixture may be of relevance when pancreatic function is tested.

Does Treatment Timing Matter?—A Double Blind Crossover Study of Ibuprofen 2400 mg Per Day in Different Dosage Schedules in Treatment of Chronic Low Back Pain

International Journal of Clinical PracticeVolume 39, Issue 7 p. 267-275 Clinical Study Does Treatment Timing Matter?—A Double Blind Crossover Study of Ibuprofen 2400 mg Per Day in Different Dosage Schedules in Treatment of Chronic Low Back Pain R. Pownall B.Sc., Ph.D., R. Pownall B.Sc., Ph.D. Medical Sciences Research Department, The Boots Company PLC, NottinghamSearch for more papers by this authorN. J. Pickvance MRCP, N. J. Pickvance MRCP Medical Sciences Research Department, The Boots Company PLC, NottinghamSearch for more papers by this author R. Pownall B.Sc., Ph.D., R. Pownall B.Sc., Ph.D. Medical Sciences Research Department, The Boots Company PLC, NottinghamSearch for more papers by this authorN. J. Pickvance MRCP, N. J. Pickvance MRCP Medical Sciences Research Department, The Boots Company PLC, NottinghamSearch for more papers by this author First published: 01 July 1985 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1742-1241.1985.tb07836.xCitations: 1Read the full textAboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Citing Literature Volume39, Issue7July 1985Pages 267-275 RelatedInformation

Establishing effective training

All too frequently training has been described in terms of the organisational level at which it is aimed. Thus we have artificial divisions between operator, craft, clerical, supervisory and management training. The fact is however that changes cannot be made at one level without affecting behaviour at other levels. Developing the role of the supervisor, for example, necessarily involves modifying the role of managers, specialists and operators. Furthermore the aim of the training function should be to develop the performance of the organisation as a whole. The purpose of this article is to demonstrate the advantages and pay‐offs of adopting an integrated approach to training and organisation change. This is done by means of a description of our recent experiences in designing and running such a programme in the Warehousing and Distribution Function of The Boots Company Limited.