EDITOR’S PAGE
A quick look back - and looking forwards
I
t’s usual at this time of the year for publications to take a look back and review how the sector they cover has fared in the past year or so, and I’m not going to be the exception. For most of the year the emphasis in my Editor’s Page has been on the need for the pharma and biotech sectors to reconsider their business models in the light of how drug discovery and development can be made more efficient, particularly through the adoption of the more targeted approaches offered by personalised medicine.
Positive and negative effects However, the search for new ways to develop new products has led to some dramatic developments in the pharmaceutical and biotech sectors, particularly in the past year. It’s not very surprising that the major pharma companies have opted to reduce their manufacturing capabilities. In the UK, site closures by Pfizer, Sanofi, Novartis and AstraZeneca have had a major impact, not just on local economies, but on the country’s image as a leader in the pharmaceutical
sector and as a country that is an attractive location for life science businesses. The closure of R&D facilities in addition to manufacturing ones is of particular concern.
Let’s look forward
That said, there is an upside to these developments in that the more R&D or manufacturing that’s outsourced, the better for business, certainly from the perspective of contract rsearch and contract manufacturing companies. Another plus is that there are more specialist companies being established, usually by leading researchers with forefront knowledge and expertise in drug discovery and related areas of life sciencs, thus creating a new group of highly focused, highly efficient ‘hi-tech’ companies. There’s a news item in this issue of sp2 (see page 8) showing how AstraZeneca’s closure of its Charnwood, UK facility has at least had the benefit of encouraging the start-up of a number of life science businesses in the East Midlands region of the UK.
So what of the future? It remains to be seen how the new paradigm in pharma R&D and
sp2 Inter-Active
TI just want to finish off by saying how we at sp2 are looking to the future: starting in 2012 we will be offering sp2 Inter-A
Active, our digital
publication with enhanced features including video and audio links (there are two examples in this issue), which we believe will increase the value you receive from the publication and your enjoyment of it. The first issue of sp2 Inter-A
Active will be the January/February 2012 one and I would really welcome your comments on it. In the meantime I wish you a bright future in the New Year!
Tom Mulligan
manufacturing will eventually be shaped, but it looks as if these industry changes will be beneficial in the long term (for example, see the FDA announcement on new drug approvals on page 7 of this issue).
Tom Mulligan, MSc Editor - sp2
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sp2
November/December 2011
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