Editor's desk: New beginnings

Rebekah Jordan introduces this issue of EPM for the first time, describing her new venture in the pharma industry and key standpoints so far.

I’d like to welcome you to this issue of European Pharmaceutical Manufacturer. It’s been a little over two months since I started as an editor to this magazine and already, I’ve learned so much. This is something of a new industry to me but one I have relished getting to grips with.

From innovative drug delivery devices, methods of developing new drugs, and the role that genomics will have on the future of the way we deal with healthcare issues, the pharmaceutical industry is an exciting field to be a part of, and indeed write about. Even through COVID (which I’m sure you’ll agree we’re all tired of talking about), the pharmaceutical industry has had to rapidly keep up with vaccine supply and demand, whilst maintaining a high level of consistency and accuracy.

This is evident with the recent news of the sector having to adapt vaccines in order to combat new variants of the disease that left us in multiple lockdowns over the past couple of years, as Pfizer/BioNTech have recently announced positive results following the development of their two Omicron-adapted vaccine candidates. As variants continue to emerge, this work is critical as the world combats any emerging health threats.

Moreover, it would be interesting to see how the industry adapts to the prevalence of automation and digitalisation especially during the manufacturing and distribution processes, and the challenges posed.

But it’s thanks to the hard efforts of the pharmaceutical industry that we are now in a position to meet face-to-face once again, for example trade shows are now back up and running as normal, and a hello to those who may be picking up this edition at Achema.

On the note of trade shows, my recent visit to Pharmapack in Paris as a first-time attendee was certainly an intriguing one. Being able to observe the pinnacle of packaging and delivery devices first hand and discuss with the experts to gain insights into the field. It made me appreciate an experience that you can only really get with face-to-face interaction as I’m sure I wasn’t alone in expanding my knowledge base in this particular part of the pharmaceutical supply chain.

With all that being said, I hope you enjoy this issue and can’t wait to see what CPHI has to offer in Frankfurt later on this year, in terms of the latest solutions and developments. Finally, I look forward to working with and meeting as many of you as possible during my tenure on European Pharmaceutical Manufacturer.