All articles by Staff Writer
Staff Writer
Easing the clinical trials pathway
As The Accelerating Clinical Trials in the EU launches two new advice pilots aimed to improve the quality of applications for clinical trials, in a further attempt to build a firmer foundation for the development of safe and effective medicines in Europe, Jim Banks explores how these will help researchers to navigate the technical and regulatory requirements of the new regime.
A new prescription for packaging
Sustainable packaging is rapidly becoming a priority for industries worldwide, spurred by increasing environmental awareness and stringent regulations. However, the pharmaceutical industry faces unique challenges in joining this trend. The EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive, aimed at curbing packaging waste and promoting circular economies, has significant implications for pharmaceutical packaging. World Pharmaceutical Frontiers finds out the latest update to the EU’s Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive to shed some light on the current guidelines and recommendations for pharmaceutical packaging and waste.
A spoonful of sugar
The unpleasant taste of drugs has long been a reason for poor patient compliance, with pharmaceutical manufacturers developing various techniques for taste masking. Abi Millar talks to Laura Owens, global strategic marketing manager at International Flavors & Fragrances (IFF), about how taste-masking can encourage a more patientcentric approach to drug development.
Encapsulating innovation
When it comes to solid oral dosage forms, soft capsules are an essential option for pharmaceutical manufacturers. Developing these soft capsules, however, can often be rather complex. With help from Dr Shawn Wettig of the University of Waterloo, Andrea Valentino investigates, exploring how shells, fillings – and the rising power of sustainability – all come together to create an industry in flux.
The cold chain’s climate challenge
The pharmaceutical industry is playing its part in a global effort to reduce carbon emissions, so the cold chain is a prime target for technological innovations that can support sustainability, yet many challenges lie ahead. Jim Banks explores the challenges of facilitating pharmaceutical redistribution, minimising waste, meeting net-zero emission targets and maintaining healthcare system capabilities, speaking to Matthew Winterman, senior vice president, global supply chain and strategy at AstraZeneca and Jeffrey Whitford, vice president of sustainability and social business innovation at Merck Life Science
Creating order in uncertain skies
In a fast-paced industry like global pharma, where the integrity of sensitive cargoes is key, certification processes serve as a bedrock for consistency and reliability. Andrea Valentino talks to Phil Pluck of the Cold Chain Association and Mateusz Zawadzki of IATA to understand the world of temperature-controlled air cargo shipments, and how certification drives are pivotal in ensuring clear, enforceable standards right across the sector.
Automatic for the people
The promise of smart devices for drug delivery offers solutions for efficacy, safety and patient compliance of drug therapies. Among these smart devices has emerged a number of wearable technologies, such as microneedle-skin patches and auto-injectors. But despite these advances, how are device developers maximising the benefits of these technologies while meeting patient demands for comfort and convenience? Monica Karpinski investigates.
Agility through alliances
The past few years have inevitably had an adverse effect on the pharmaceutical and life sciences supply chain, which have only highlighted its importance in the healthcare sector. One element that is typically overlooked, is the importance of relationship management as an operational backbone. Sarah Harris hears from experts in the industry as they explore strategies to cultivate relationships with modern suppliers and ensuring reliable partnerships for sourcing and procurement.
In code we trust
AI holds huge promise for enhancing and streamlining quality control processes to get highquality drugs to patients faster. Elly Earls sat down with Dave Latshaw, chief executive and scientific officer at BioPhy, and Niranjan Kulkarni and Ryan Thompson of CRB Group, to find out about the technology’s most exciting applications and the barriers that still remain before it can be widely implemented.
Frontier Scientific Solutions Unveils Plans for a Global Free Trade Zone (FTZ) Gateway
Frontier Scientific Solutions, a temperature-controlled storage and transportation company exclusively serving the life sciences industry, today announced the development of state-of-the-art cGMP facilities at Wilmington International Airport (ILM) in North Carolina and Shannon Airport (SNN) in County Clare, Ireland.