The arrival of Covid-19 has put pharma companies under increased pressure to deliver positive results, but this is not the first time that the industry has been forced to rapidly respond to global health threats. One such threat is the mumps, a viral disease that is once again on the rise in England despite the existence of the MMR vaccine. To find out what is behind this ten-year peak in cases, we track the history of the condition and the treatments developed to prevent it. Plus, we investigate the role that whistleblowers play in global pandemics, and find out what happened to the individuals who went above and beyond to warn people about the spread of diseases.

Moving away from viruses, we take a look at a cancer treatment that shuns the personalised medicine trend by targeting the oncoprotein Myc, which is found in most cancers, talk to supply chain management company Origin about pharma’s role in dealing with the health effects of climate change, and find out what manufacturers do to maximise the tolerability and safety of medications and their inactive ingredients.

Plus, we ask if 2020 will be the year of the pharma spin out company, speak to Genocea CEO and president Chip Clark about improving cancer treatments, and get a step by step guide through Signals Analytics’ pharma playbook to find out how the system can support drug development and partnerships.