As president of the International Society of Oncology Pharmacy Practitioners and co-chair of the UK SACT Board, Netty Cracknell is championing the role of oncology pharmacy in delivering high-quality cancer care worldwide and supporting progress, as Saša Janković explains.
Halfway through her two-year tenure as president of the International Society of Oncology Pharmacy Practitioners (ISOPP), not to mention her role as co-chair of The UK Systemic Anti-Cancer Therapy (SACT) Board, Netty Cracknell has a clearer view than most of the current state and future trajectory of oncology pharmacy in the UK, Europe and beyond.
Her more than two decades of experience as an oncology pharmacist in the NHS and across the independent sector in the UK have seen her hold various leadership positions across the specialism and, since January 2025, she has been principal pharmacist for operations, at the independent specialist cancer care provider GenesisCare UK – all of which inspire her mission to ensure the best outcomes for patients.
‘It’s been a rewarding year so far, especially working with colleagues around the world to tackle one of the most significant challenges we face in oncology pharmacy,’ she says. This challenge is ensuring access to high-quality cancer care and education across different regions, which is arguably made more difficult by the increasing complexity of cancer therapies. But it’s a challenge that Netty wholly embraces.
Development and collaboration in oncology pharmacy
An emerging opportunity lies in the integration of advanced technologies such as precision medicine and artificial intelligence (AI) to optimise patient care. ‘These have the potential to significantly improve both therapeutic outcomes and the efficiency of our practices,’ she says, ‘especially in the UK, where the healthcare system is under constant strain, we need to ensure we are optimising our resources and using innovation in the most effective ways to maintain high-quality care.’
On a global scale, Netty says ISOPP has been ‘working tirelessly’ to develop resources and educational content aimed at improving oncology pharmacy practice worldwide.
‘Last month we published ISOPP’s Oncology Pharmacy Service Levels after almost two years of research and we have also implemented initiatives like ISOPP’s no-fee membership to ensure access to our high-quality resources for oncology pharmacy professionals across the globe,’ she explains.
‘We are also planning our 2026 truly International Virtual Symposium in March – a 24-hour event that will bring oncology pharmacy professionals together from around the world to learn from each other, share best practices and discuss emerging trends.’
An MDT focus
In the UK, The UK SACT Board is also actively working to address challenges in the specialism and support the workforce to deliver optimal cancer care to patients. One example is a pilot project to introduce UK-wide National SACT protocols around standardisation and optimisation of SACT treatment protocols for cancer patients, which Netty says will ‘significantly reduce duplication of work, allowing all members of the multidisciplinary team (MDT) to focus on other aspects of care’.
Since cancer treatment involves multiple interventions, Netty says the MDT is ‘absolutely crucial’ and pharmacists have a vital role at the very heart, working closely with oncologists, haematologists, nurses and other healthcare professionals to improve outcomes.
‘Pharmacists play a central role in managing drug therapies, advising on the best treatment options, minimising potential drug interactions and ensuring safe medication administration,’ she emphasises. ‘Within the UK, pharmacists generally lead on SACT protocol development and are the authors of these important medicines information documents – with the MDT, clinicians and nurses reviewing the content.’
The SACT Verification Passport
Netty herself led the development of the British Oncology Pharmacy Association (BOPA) Digital SACT Verification Passport in 2023, allowing pharmacy staff who have undertaken oncology pharmacy training to move between organisations in the UK without the need for retraining and validation.
Available free to BOPA free associates and paid members, the passport enables a training accreditation record to sit with the individual rather than the hiring organisation, allowing for a seamless transition when staff are changing roles. This is further facilitated by its digital format and portability, which create time efficiencies, ease of access, auditability and fully assured digital sign-off.
‘This saves duplication of work by tutors and repeat training across the NHS and other healthcare organisations, allowing clinical pharmacists and pharmacy technicians to concentrate on other tasks, with relevant training modules completed within the passport and revalidation required annually in order to ensure maintenance of the standards,’ explains Netty. ‘In the UK, we are also now supporting pharmacy technicians to clinically verify simple SACT scripts after the relevant training, to help with workload and ensure career development for our workforce.’
Future innovations in oncology pharmacy
With experience in some of the sector’s most forward-thinking ways of practice, Netty says there are several interesting innovations on the horizon for oncology pharmacy that she is keeping a close eye on.
‘The growing role of pharmacogenomics, which allows for more personalised cancer treatment, will revolutionise the way we approach therapy,’ she says. ‘And the integration of AI has the potential to predict which treatments will be most effective for specific patients, improving decision-making processes in real time. And more specifically for pharmacists working in hospitals, there is also the potential for AI to be used to clinically verify or screen prescriptions and highlight those that need more input from an experienced oncology pharmacist due to specific parameters not being met.’
On a global scale, Netty believes the growing use of biosimilars presents a significant opportunity to improve patient care. ‘These treatments offer more affordable alternatives to costly biologic therapies, thereby increasing accessibility to a broader range of patients and advancing the overall quality of care,’ she says.
To support oncology pharmacists in this shift, ISOPP has developed a Biosimilars Toolkit to equip pharmacists with the knowledge and guidance necessary to effectively navigate the expanding role of biosimilars in cancer treatment.
Embracing advancements
Netty is a firm believer that hospital pharmacy teams, especially oncology pharmacists, should be encouraged and supported to adopt and adapt to these kinds of advancements in the sector.
‘We need to equip pharmacists with the skills to interpret and implement new technologies and treatment regimens effectively and the key to success will be a strong emphasis on continuous education and training,’ she says.
‘One of the initiatives we’ve been driving at ISOPP is the creation of high-quality education content, such as the Understanding Targeted Therapies and Immunotherapies for Cancer (UTIC) course, which ISOPP partnered with BOPA to develop. This course has recently been awarded the FIP seal, and we are also running regular webinars focusing on topics such as compassion fatigue to help keep pharmacy teams engaged and informed,’ Netty adds.
Presidential priorities for oncology pharmacy
As her ISOPP presidency progresses, Netty says her main priorities for the remainder of the term include continuing to strengthen global collaboration in oncology pharmacy and expanding access to education.
‘I’m particularly excited about ISOPP’s 2026 truly international Virtual Symposium, and I also hope to expand the reach of no-fee membership at ISOPP, ensuring that even those in lower-resourced settings can access the knowledge and support they need,’ she says.
One thing that isn’t going to change is Netty’s commitment to advocating for best practice and the recognition of oncology pharmacy as an essential part of cancer care. Her ultimate goal is to ‘further establish ISOPP as a key voice in oncology pharmacy globally’ in order to achieve this.
And her message is simple: ‘Through collaboration, innovation and education we can ensure that oncology pharmacy continues to evolve, optimising patient care and supporting better outcomes for our patients worldwide.’
N.B. The term ‘oncology’ used throughout encompasses all cancer including haematology.
