There have been two top stories dominating headlines over the past few months: Covid-19 and the US election. Both topics will have significant global reverberations around the world over the coming years, a fact made quite clear when healthcare was certified as a key political issue during the pre-election debates. After Joe Biden was officially declared President-elect, attentions turned to how his potential policies may affect different industries – notably how his new administration would deal with the pharma industry during a period of heightened demand on the sector.

With this in mind, we take a close look at Biden’s previous attitude towards Big Pharma to find out what the industry can expect from the incoming administration.

Elsewhere in this issue, we investigate the ethical implications of developing a drug to targets one of the most common types of dwarfism, learn what it takes to fast track a vaccine from concept to delivery, and track the ground-breaking discovery of Hepatitis C that landed three scientists the 2020 Nobel Prize for Medicine.

Plus, we find out why anti-counterfeit packaging is becoming a hot topic in Brexit discussions, explore the growing trend of self-medication, and ask if the pharma industry’s sustainability goals are bold enough.

All this and more in this latest issue of Pharma Technology Magazine.

Eloise Mclennan, editor