17th October 2018

Legalised? We’re only just about prescribing…

Today, Canada legalised Cannabis for recreational use. Is the UK behind the times?

On the 26th of July this year, the UK Home Secretary Sajid Javid announced that specialist doctors would be able to prescribe cannabis derived medicinal products from autumn 2018 (1). Is the UK behind the times? The advisory council on the misuse of drugs (ACMD) and the Medicines and Healthcare Regulatory Authority (MHRA) conducted a

26th September 2018

Top Career Advice – Life Sciences Interview

As you look ahead to your upcoming life sciences interview with any pharma or biotech company it is important to understand how crucial it is to undertake good preparation beforehand.

Whilst you may have an idea of what to expect, here we look at how to tailor your answers specifically for a life sciences interview that may very well set you apart from other candidates in the running for a position as well as some of the common pitfalls to avoid.   Motivation for Position

18th September 2018

The Price of Innovation

Since 1976 and the FDA regulation coming into place, the medical devices industry has gone from strength to strength, emerging as one of the fast growing sectors with innovation at the forefront.

The Concorde, embarked on its first commercial flight, since then we now have millions of passenger flights in operation on a weekly basis. The Apple Computer company was formed by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak, we now have the Iphone, Apple watch which have been come a standard part of some of our lives. In

22nd August 2018

Regulatory Affairs Talent Gap is a Problem for Small Pharma

In football, money like anything in life tends to have a big impact on the quality of a Team.

Though it doesn’t always equate to Premier Leagues or Champions Leagues, the rule is simple: more money equals better players and should result in more wins! In pharmaceutical regulatory affairs, the same is increasingly true. To the detriment of smaller players and the benefit of bigger ones, regulatory affairs talent is in high demand; this

17th August 2018

Technology advances in the Pharmaceutical Industry – 3D Bioprinting

“I fear the day that technology will surpass our human interaction. The world will have a generation of idiots” – Albert Einstein

Was he wrong? Walk down the road and you’ll notice how many people are glued to their phone/tablet. In my opinion, it’s true that the use of technology is slowly replacing the need to use our minds to think. Anything and everything we want to know is easily accessed through a computerised device. Alas, the

8th August 2018

The Human Fear of Ageing

Has the first immortal generation already been born?

Gerascophobia is a clinical phobia, defined as an incessant fear of aging. Sufferers view aging as a human flaw or disease rather than a natural progression. They are more likely to seek plastic surgery to help them remain looking youthful, and symptoms include the fear of the future and the fear of needing to rely

2nd August 2018

One of the most pressing public health issues – poor drug adherence

What is being done? Is it a) helping you b) watching you?

The FDA approval of the first ever tablet to alert patients that they have ingested it sparked my interest. The tablet which contains a grain-size ingestible sensor transmits a message to a smart patch worn on the rib cage when it comes into contact with stomach acid. Otsuka in partnership with Proteus Digital Health developed the

3rd July 2018

Death Row… Deception & Drugs

In 1982, the state of Texas became the first jurisdiction in the world to carry out an execution by lethal injection.

Normally, on my train to work on a Monday morning I’m reading about how well my football club Arsenal have performed over the weekend. Looking outside the window whilst the train was starting to speed up, I received a text from a friend saying, “Did you see what happened in Texas last night?” As the

3rd July 2018

Women in the Pharmaceutical Industry

How influential have women become in the pharmaceutical industry?

The Ada Lovelace Day, an international celebration that honours the achievements of women in science, technology, engineering and maths, reminds us of the importance of this question. Indeed, this is a commemoration of the efforts that women have put into escaping the status quo that denied them access to the labour market and until recently