Space agencies and private companies the world over are inching closer to their plans of taking humans to the moon and eventually to Mars. An important aspect of ensuring long-term space travel is the study, research and use of health interventions that will work in space just as well as they do on Earth.

In this issue, we take a look at tools and guidelines being developed to not just study but also manufacture medicines away from the planet. Several byproducts of such research have been integrated into standard clinical study and everyday life, making the use of these technologies closer to fact than fiction.

The second edition of our investigation into orphan drugs designations reveals that cancer therapies constitute the majority of therapeutics with this tag and most orphan drugs are designed to treat genetic disorders. Other stories delve into the study of the exposome, how inflation is driving pharma’s focus on sustainability, and the future of remote regulatory assessments.

All this, and the latest pharma industry news, comment, data, and analysis from GlobalData.

Manasi Vaidya, editor