For most pharmaceuticals executives, the prospect of the patent cliff is looming large in their thoughts. But an additional – and less obvious – challenge is also ready to derail future performance: that of excess inventory.

It seems every industry is jumping on the social media bandwagon. But how can social media prove beneficial to the tightly regulated world of pharmaceuticals?

The drug manufacturing industry is under increasing pressure and scrutiny. Now more than ever, there is a growing need to innovate and streamline manufacturing operations, reduce cost and time-to-market while meeting compliance and regulatory standards. Can social media help?

Three of the world’s biggest pharma companies are joining forces to try and combat Asia’s ‘cancer epidemic’

The figures are startling: Asia-Pacific makes up about half of the world’s cancer deaths and the region is projected to log around 8.1 million new cases by 2020.

China alone is home to about one-fifth of the world’s new cases, compared to about 13 percent in the US and 26 percent in Europe.

Every other industry is getting on the social media bandwagon. But could social media actually prove beneficial to the world of pharma?

Outside of the pharmaceutical industry, business is continually finding innovative ways to make use of social media to engage with customers in order to drive sales, maintain relationships and uncover issues. Within the world of pharma, however, an intense regulatory environment and over-protectiveness of intellectual property have proven a minefield for pharma companies keen to dip their toes into the social media pool.

As smartphones and tablets take over, pharma needs a strategic understanding of how mobile solutions improve customer outreach and drive competitive advantage. Andrew Tolve reports.

Personalised medicine is making a comeback – but will it stick this time?

It was supposed to be the great saviour of the pharma industry – personalised medicine, the salve that would heal the sector from a drug drought, looming patient cliffs and financial collapse.

As clinical trials become more globalised and complex, there is an increased need for investigators in all regions of the world, as well as for treatment-naïve patients. The industry faces demanding regulatory needs, as well as the complexities of innovative treatment combinations and adaptive trials, against the backdrop of needing to find new cost and time efficiencies. Many challenges associated with this changing landscape, including administering, planning, monitoring and controlling clinical trials, can be addressed through the effective use of a CTMS (Clinical Trial Management System).

It’s not known what causes the disease or how to cure it. And the stakes have never been higher. But one European neuroscientist is leading the charge to uncover new treatments for this neurodegenerative disease.

What are the strategies for reducing drug attrition rates in the clinic through the application of transgenic rodent models?

‘Fail early, fail often’. It’s a paradigm that has long attached itself to the drug discovery focus on making improvements to the preclinical stage of development.

Interview with: Torsten Hoffmann, Head Discovery Chemistry, F. Hoffmann – La Roche
Drug discovery scientists need to broaden their approaches to pharmaceutical research and development (R&D) and Medicinal Chemistry, to take advantage of untapped opportunities, says Torsten Hoffmann, Head Discovery Chemistry at F. Hoffmann – La Roche, Basel, Switzerland. Chemical Biology allows room for innovation, but is often overlooked by scientists in the industry. A speaker at the marcus evans Discovery Summit 2011 in Cannes, France, 21 - 23 March, Hoffmann highlights the key areas for potential growth and innovation in drug discovery.