About The Pharmacy Show
Community pharmacy has its own dedicated trade show and education conference in The Pharmacy Show, which describes itself as the largest event of its kind in the UK. Organised by CloserStill Media at the NEC Birmingham, it has been running for more than a decade.
Entry is restricted to UK healthcare professionals, and attendance is free for those who qualify. Visitors include pharmacy owners, pharmacists, pharmacy technicians, buyers and other decision makers from community and primary care settings, as well as wholesalers and distributors. Patients, members of the public and undergraduate students are not admitted.
The exhibition hosts pharmaceutical, consumer health and medical technology companies alongside suppliers of the systems and services that pharmacies depend on. Education runs throughout, with clinical forums, workshops and practical training sessions, including vaccination training, and a speaker programme shaped with input from an advisory board.
For suppliers, the value lies in the timing as much as the access. Community pharmacy has been taking on a broader clinical role alongside dispensing and retail, and owners are investing in services, systems and training to support that shift. The Pharmacy Show gathers many of those owners and their teams in one place, giving exhibitors concentrated access to a sector that can be difficult to reach store by store. The education programme also means visitors often stay for long periods, which gives exhibitors more chances to engage them.
Show recap
How The Pharmacy Show 2026 went
The Pharmacy Show 2026 ran at the NEC Birmingham on 11 and 12 October, and the organiser's post-show report recorded 10,342 attendees, 352 exhibitors and 204 speakers across the two days.
The tone was of a sector under pressure but looking for practical answers. The opening keynote, on balancing clinical expansion with financial stability, brought together leaders from the National Pharmacy Association, the Independent Pharmacies Association, the Company Chemists' Association and APTUK to discuss funding, workforce planning and better use of pharmacy technicians. A session led by Thiscovery and the NPA drew on research with almost 500 participants to set out what independent prescribing in community pharmacy still needs, from funding to record access and links with general practice.
Elsewhere, the Pharmacy Owners' Forum advised on choosing private services to invest in, and Rahul Singh of NHS England outlined electronic prescribing, NHS App tracking and the planned Single Patient Record. BD Rowa and Oviva were gold sponsors. The organiser has confirmed a return to the NEC on 10 and 11 October 2027.
Next edition
The Pharmacy Show 2027: what to expect
The Pharmacy Show 2027 returns to the NEC Birmingham on Sunday 10 and Monday 11 October 2027. Doors open 09:00 to 18:00 on the Sunday and 09:00 to 16:30 on the Monday.
The 2026 show set a strong benchmark: the organiser reported 10,342 attendees, 352 exhibitors and 204 speakers. Independent prescribing, sustainable business models and pharmacy technology were the big themes last time, and exhibitors in those areas should expect informed questions.
Entry follows the ABPI Code of Practice, and undergraduate students and under-18s are not admitted, so anyone promoting medicines should have stand graphics and giveaways checked against the code before production. The Sunday opening is popular with owners who cannot leave the counter midweek, so staff the first day fully and keep a quieter corner for longer conversations about automation, private services or prescribing support.