Editor’s Voice: March – R&D innovation, data transparency and Digital Unlocked
Hannah Blake
pharmaphorum
Take a look at what’s been happening on pharmaphorum during the month of March – from content around the theme of R&,D Innovation, to the publication of Digital Unlocked and write-ups from The Economist’s Pharma Summit 2013 and the Ben Goldacre v Stephen Whitehead debate.
Is it just me or are these months flying by? We’re at the end of March already, and although the weather here in the UK may still feel like winter, we’re definitely now on the homestretch towards summer – hooray! But before you start daydreaming about beaches and cocktails, check out some of the great content we’ve published this month...
To start, it’s always fascinating to hear from those within the pharma and healthcare companies around the world and this month, we’ve published perspectives from Scotland, India, Russia and China:
• Kirsty Smith looks at why spin-outs in Scotland’s life sciences sector are so successful in “Scotland is blooming with life sciences”.
 ,
"...it’s always fascinating to hear from those within pharma and healthcare companies around the world..."
 ,
• In his article, Girish Bakhru explores the current climate of the pharmaceutical industry in India.
• Alexey Volostnov of Frost &, Sullivan discusses pharma M&,A deals in Russia.
• In her article, Flic Gabbay explores the pharmaceutical business opportunities in China in our R&,D innovation focus month.
We’ve also has some fascinating pieces along the lines of our discipline focus R&,D innovation – thanks again to everyone who contributed. Here’s a selection of my highlights:
• Eli Lilly and Company’s Greg Kueterman shares his thoughts on the importance of advancing pharma R&,D innovation, in the first of many articles by Lilly for pharmaphorum.
• In his article, Cal Collins discusses how sponsors of clinical research must increasingly focus on improving patient engagement in order to meet many of today’s research challenges.
• Cadient Group’s Bryan Hill shares his thoughts on some ways in which you can increase the appeal of your data in “Big data visualization: five ways to bring sexy to your data”.
 ,
"The debate around whether or not the pharma industry should publish all of its clinical trial data heated up in March..."
 ,
• Dr Kevin Lustig and Dr Maria Thompson from Assay Depot start of their four-part series with an article looking at the changing face of drug discovery and development and life science research in general.
Clinical trial data transparency debate
The debate around whether or not the pharma industry should publish all of its clinical trial data heated up in March through two main events that pharmaphorum was fortunate enough to attend. The first was a live debate between ‘Bad Pharma’ author, Dr Ben Goldacre, and the ABPI’s Steven Whitehead, which was organised by PharmaTimes. The motion of the debate was “Is pharma getting its act together?” To find out what happened, take a look at “Ben Goldacre v Stephen Whitehead: Is pharma getting its act together?” Let us know your opinion!
The second event was The Economist’s Pharma Summit 2013 at The Dorchester in London. The theme of the day was “Back to basics: the real business of pharma”, with speakers from Johnson &, Johnson, AstraZeneca, Roche, the Innovative Medicines Initiative and FTI Consulting, to name just a few. Read our write-up to see how various companies are adapting to challenges around driving R&,D innovation in cost-constrained markets.
Other exciting news
Find the digital space daunting? Well look no further – Digital Unlocked is a new beginner’s guide to the many different social media channels and techniques, published for pharmaceutical and healthcare marketers. And while some of you may not consider yourselves 'beginners', there's something in the book (or e-book) to learn for everyone, something to challenge your thinking and something to help.
 ,
"All the proceeds of the guide go straight to the charity Bliss, so you can learn all about the digital pharma space AND help a good cause."
 ,
All the proceeds of the guide go straight to the charity Bliss, so you can learn all about the digital pharma space AND help a good cause. What are you waiting for? Head over to the PM Society website to get your hands on a copy.
P.S. One of the co-writers of Digital Unlocked is pharmaphorum’s CEO Paul Tunnah, along with social media expert Faisal Ahmed, so now you definitely have to go check it out!
And speaking of digital...
Our focus in April on pharmaphorum is all things digital and social media. So expect to see articles on content marketing, e-promotion and gamification, to name a few key buzzwords in this space! We will also have a number of global perspectives again – this time, look out for Brazil, Mexico, Russia and Asia. And with companies such as Twitter, Forbes and the Serious Games Institute involved, April is definitely going to be one exciting month!
We certainly hope you will agree. Until next month, enjoy...
About the author:
Hannah joined pharmaphorum in early 2012, after graduating with a degree in Magazine Journalism &, Feature Writing in 2011, and leads our news coverage, in addition to liaising with new and existing feature authors. With over three years’ experience working within the journalism industry alongside university, Hannah has written for a number of different print and online publications, within the women’s lifestyle, travel and celebrity sectors. Now focussed on the pharma sector with her role at pharmaphorum, Hannah is embracing the challenges of working within a fast growing media organisation in this rapidly changing industry sector.
For any queries or contribution suggestions, please contact her here or via Twitter @Hannah_Blake2.
How can pharma adapt to the challenge of driving R&,D innovation in cost-contained markets?
