The National Association of Women Pharmacists (NAWP) will no longer disband, after joining forces with the Pharmacists’ Defence Association (PDA).

The 114-year-old women’s support group was due to close at the end of the year ‘with considerable regret’, it was announced in May.

The group will become a ‘semi-autonomous network’ within the PDA on 31 December, and membership will be available from 1 January 2020.

NAWP membership will be free for PDA student members, working PDA members for £10 and non-members for £30

NAWP President Anita White said: ‘I am delighted that we have agreed a future for NAWP to continue our work as part of the PDA.  The next chapter in NAWP’s history looks bright and should bring new opportunities to women pharmacists’

PDA director Paul Day said: ‘We are delighted that we can provide the structure for NAWP to not only continue but to grow and do even more for women pharmacists.  Pharmacy is a mainly female profession and we have over 17,000 women pharmacists within our membership, we hope that many of them will choose to join NAWP network and enhance that influence.’

Royal Pharmaceutical Society president Sandra Gidley said: ‘Women make up around 60% of the pharmacy profession but we still face many inequalities in our professional lives.

‘We look forward to working closely with NAWP in the future.’