The 26th Annual Pharmacy Business Awards held in London on 2 October celebrated the dedication and excellence of pharmacy professionals.
With over 680 guests in attendance, the awards recognised the best of every facet of community pharmacy, from pharmacy teams and their innovative work, to leading products, wholesalers and manufacturers.
Olivier Picard, Chair of the National Pharmacy Association, was awarded the Ram Solanki Editor’s Award for his dedication to the community pharmacy sector.
On a social media post, he said that he did not expect his name to be called.
He shared: “To receive that recognition from our profession is incredibly humbling and, if I’m honest, quite emotional. A huge thank you to everyone across pharmacy. This profession has given me so much, and being able to represent it, champion it and hopefully help shape its future is a privilege I never take for granted.”
“The evening was all about the sheer diversity of the stories being celebrated. Different backgrounds, different settings, different journeys, but the same underlying commitment to patients, communities and to making pharmacy better,” he added while thanking Pharmacy Business and the Solanki family, owners of the Asian Media Group.
Adele Curran, Chief Operating Officer of Real World Analytics, gave her congratulations to the award winners.
She shared on social media: "It was a super reflection of the dedicated & passionate people that make up the community pharmacy industry. Congratulations to all our customers & partners who won awards during the evening."
Uday Bose, General Manager of GSK in the UK, thanked Shailesh Solanki, Executive Editor of Pharmacy Business and Asian Media Group for the event.
He said: "Community pharmacies are critical to local and national healthcare delivery, and it was an honour to spend the evening with so many outstanding leaders in this field. As demands for healthcare increase from an aging population, coupled with the government’s focus to deliver care closer to the patient, it is clear that we must invest in and support our community pharmacies across the UK."
Dr Yasmin Karsan, Clinical Safety Officer and Governance lead for Karsons Pharmacy and founder of the Digital Clinical Safety Agency, a previous award winner, reflected on "an incredible evening of connection, achievements and support".
"Huge congratulations to all the winners and nominees. Especially Abi Saran who won the Inspirational Woman Award. Everyone who was up for an award demonstrated their hard work and determination to grow the profession and excellence in patient care delivery," she said.
NPA Chief Executive Henry Gregg thanked Shailesh Solanki, executive editor of Pharmacy Business and Kalpesh Solanki, managing editor of Pharmacy Business and Asian Media Group, and praised the winners.
"This included our very own Olivier Picard winning the Ram Solanki Editor's Award for his services to community pharmacy; Paddy Gompels and his team at D & M Gompels who won the Enterprise Award; Paul Mayberry who won the Pharmacy Technology Award and Ronak Maroo who won the Pharmacy Team of the Year. Congratulations to all the nominees and winners," he said.
Sehar Shahid, Superintendent Pharmacist and Director at Pure Health Pharmacy and a former PB winner, shared: "A huge congratulations to all the nominees and the winners. The stories, the journeys and all the hard work is so inspiring in our industry, so it was lovely to celebrate and recognise everyone. It's nights like this you are reminded and really appreciate the impact pharmacy teams and pharmacists have on their communities."
Baba Akomolafe, Director of Christchurch Health Centre and former Pharmacy Business Awards winner, shared that it was an honour for his family to attend the Pharmacy Business Awards and a double honour to be nominated for two awards.
Saam Ali, Founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Pharmacy Mentor and former award winner, shared: "Whether you’re a dispenser, pharmacist, pharmacy owner or healthtech CEO, we’re all on one shared mission…Better access. Better care. Better health outcomes.”
“Last night at the Pharmacy Business Awards was a great reminder of just how many brilliant people are working across Community Pharmacy to move that mission forward.”
Sigma Pharmaceuticals shared on social media that it was a pleasure to attend the Pharmacy Business Awards to "celebrate the achievements and contributions of those working across the pharmacy sector".
Balal Anwar, from Med-Inspire Pharma Limited, Cheshunt, who was nominated for the Aspiring Pharmacy Leader Award, shared: “These nights are so important for our industry. They give everyone the opportunity to come together, celebrate achievements and recognise the incredible work being done across pharmacy."
Zydus Group shared online: "A proud moment for Zydus Pharmaceuticals UK as the team won the Innovation in Generics award at the Pharmacy Business Awards 2026. A meaningful recognition of innovation, leadership and the people shaping the future of pharmacy."
Azeem Choudhry, CEO and founder of Future Care Pharmacy, noted: “It was a real pleasure to attend the Pharmacy Business Awards 2026 and celebrate the incredible work, dedication and innovation happening across community pharmacy throughout the UK. These events are a great opportunity to step away from the day-to-day, meet fellow pharmacy professionals, and recognise the people and teams who continue to make such a positive difference to patients and their communities.”
Pharmacy Business' Editor Carolyn Scott also commented: "It was a huge pleasure to meet all our award winners as they came off the stage, and to experience the range of emotions they all showed – from excitement to disbelief, and very wide smiles. It was so great to see people’s hard work rewarded. Congratulations again to the fantastic winners, finalists and to everyone who entered. You are stars!”
