header-logo header-logo

12 October 2012
Issue: 7533 / Categories: Case law , Law digest , In Court
printer mail-detail

Pharmacy—Pharmaceutical services—Supply of medicine or drug

Blackbay Ventures Ltd v Secretary of State for Health and another [2012] EWHC 2635 (Admin), [2012] All ER (D) 12 (Oct)

The words of Art 80(b) of Council Directive (EC) 2001/83 (on the Community code relating to medicinal products for human use) (the directive) and reg 9 of the Human Use (Manufacturing, Wholesale, Dealing and Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2005 (SI 2005/2789) were clear. They applied to all persons holding a wholesale dealer’s licence (WDL), irrespective of the purported capacity in which they acted. Regulation 9(1)(a) stated that “the holder of a wholesale dealer’s licence” should obtain supplies of relevant medicinal products only from either a manufacturer’s licence holder, or a person who themselves held a WDL for such products. Those words should be given their ordinary meaning. It followed that the claimant’s purchase of medicines from pharmacies without a WDL was in breach of the terms of reg 9 of the regulations.

The conditions applicable to the supply of medicinal products to the public were not harmonised under EU law as it presently

If you are not a subscriber, subscribe now to read this content
If you are already a subscriber sign in
...or Register for two weeks' free access to subscriber content

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Cripps—Radius Law

Cripps—Radius Law

Commercial and technology practice boosted by team hire

Switalskis—Grimsby

Switalskis—Grimsby

Firm expands with new Grimsby office to serve North East Lincolnshire

Slater Heelis—Will Newman & Lucy Spilsbury

Slater Heelis—Will Newman & Lucy Spilsbury

Property team boosted by two solicitor appointments

NEWS
A High Court ruling involving the Longleat estate has exposed the fault line between modern family building and historic trust drafting. Writing in NLJ this week, Charlotte Coyle, director and family law expert at Freeths, examines Cator v Thynn [2026] EWHC 209 (Ch), where trustees sought approval to modernise trusts that retain pre-1970 definitions of ‘child’, ‘grandchild’ and ‘issue’
Fresh proposals to criminalise ‘nudification’ apps, prioritise cyberflashing and non-consensual intimate images, and even ban under-16s from social media have reignited debate over whether the Online Safety Act 2023 (OSA 2023) is fit for purpose. Writing in NLJ this week, Alexander Brown, head of technology, media and telecommunications, and Alexandra Webster, managing associate, Simmons & Simmons, caution against reactive law-making that could undermine the Act’s ‘risk-based and outcomes-focused’ design
Recent allegations surrounding Peter Mandelson and Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor have reignited scrutiny of the ancient common law offence of misconduct in public office. Writing in NLJ this week, Simon Parsons, teaching fellow at Bath Spa University, asks whether their conduct could clear a notoriously high legal hurdle
A landmark ruling has reshaped child clinical negligence claims. Writing in NLJ this week, Jodi Newton, head of birth and paediatric negligence at Osbornes Law, explains how the Supreme Court in CCC v Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust [2026] UKSC 5 has overturned Croke v Wiseman, ending the long-standing bar on children recovering ‘lost years’ earnings
A Court of Appeal ruling has drawn a firm line under party autonomy in arbitration. Writing in NLJ this week, Masood Ahmed, associate professor at the University of Leicester, analyses Gluck v Endzweig [2026] EWCA Civ 145, where a clause allowing arbitrators to amend an award ‘at any time’ was held incompatible with the Arbitration Act 1996
back-to-top-scroll