Articles

The pace at which pharmaceutical manufacturers have embraced digitalisation has accelerated over the past two years with many adopting Pharma 4.0 principles in line with the urgent need to drive speed to market and be ready for demand spikes through the pandemic and beyond.
The pace at which pharmaceutical manufacturers have embraced digitalisation has accelerated over the past two years with many adopting Pharma 4.0 principles in line with the urgent need to drive speed to market and be ready for demand spikes through the pandemic and beyond. The rate at which Covid-19 vaccines were developed and manufactured has been impressive thanks to the innovative ways pharmaceutical enterprises and medical bodies, across private and public sectors, have been able to work together. The sector, which…

When applying for your next pharma job, remember that the way you format your CV is just as important as what’s on there. You could be the strongest candidate on paper, but if a recruiter or hiring manager struggles to read it, your application might not make it through the first round. In this article, we give advice on how to format your CV for a job in pharma, with information on what to include in each section on your CV, how to present it, and which order to follow.
When applying for your next pharma job, remember that the way you format your CV is just as important as what’s on there. You could be the strongest candidate on paper, but if a recruiter or hiring manager struggles to read it, your application might not make it through the first round. In this article, we give advice on ho…

The analysis of proteins and peptides and their post-translational modifications is particularly important for the study of diseases where multiple genes are known to be involved, such as heart disease, cancer, and diabetes.
Post-translational modification (PTM) is the covalent and generally enzymatic modification of proteins following protein biosynthesis. Proteins are synthesized by ribosomes that translate mRNA into polypeptide chains and then undergo PTM to form the mature protein product. After the protein is compounded, 20 different amino acids participate in protein PTM, such as protein phosphorylation, protein acetylation, as well as protein methylation, which play a significant role in almost all biological processes. Therefore, the synthesis of post-translationally modified peptid…

UK-based international healthcare communications agency, Makara Health, continues to strengthen its offering with the creation of new roles, senior hires and promotions to better support the agency’s next phase of growth. As a result of phenomenal expansion (160% year-on-year growth over the last three years), new Business Unit Director roles have been created to lead and grow the following functions: • Dr (Med) Ekta Rohra has been promoted to Business Unit Director, Digital • Helen Rodway has been promoted to Business Unit Director, Learning and Development • To further support the Learning and Development offering, Kim Bond has been promoted to eLearning Lead • Gurjit Chahal has been promoted to Business Unit Director, PR • Dr Annlou Pendse has joined the team as Business Unit Director, Medical Education

A growing body of evidence now suggests that human microbial dysbiosis has a crucial role in cancer development and progression. Unlikely earlier studies relying on culturing bacteria from the tissue of cancer, high-throughput sequencing methods have enabled genotyping the microbial ecosystem within a cancer tissue from hundreds to thousands of patients in parallel, providing a better overview of the landscape of cancer diseases associated with human microbiome.
  The Microbiome Sequencing in Cancer Research A growing body of evidence now suggests that human microbial dysbiosis has a crucial role in cancer development and progression. Unlikely earlier studies relying on culturing bacteria from the tissue of cancer, high-throughput sequencing methods have enabled genotyping the microbi…

Biomarkers are defined as measurable biological characteristics that associate with normal or pathological conditions. They possess clinical relevance, including diagnostic, prognostic, and predictive values. RNA, not only an essential part of central dogma, is certainly a relatively untapped resource for biomarker discovery of various diseases.
Biomarkers are defined as measurable biological characteristics that associate with normal or pathological conditions. They possess clinical relevance, including diagnostic, prognostic, and predictive values. RNA, not only an essential part of central dogma, is certainly a relatively untapped resource for biomarker discovery of various diseases.   Cumulating data show that RNA molecules, including mRNAs, lncRNAs, miRNAs, siRNAs, piRNAs, snoRNA…

Enzyme engineering is a technology in which enzymes or microbial cells, animal and plant cells, organelles, etc. are placed in a certain biological reaction device, and the corresponding raw materials are converted into useful substances by using the biocatalytic function of enzymes and engineering methods.
Enzyme engineering is a technology in which enzymes or microbial cells, animal and plant cells, organelles, etc. are placed in a certain biological reaction device, and the corresponding raw materials are converted into useful substances by using the biocatalytic function of enzymes and engineering methods. It includes the preparation of enzyme preparations, the immobilization of enzymes, the modification and transformation of enzymes, and the content of enzyme reactors. The application…

In a usual drug packaging test project, the following factors should be tested, including identification, solution appearance, UV absorbance, pH, total organic carbon, bioreactivity tests for polyethylene, polypropylene, polyethylene terephthalate, cyclic olefins and plasticized polyvinyl chloride, as well as chemical safety assessments.
The packaging materials used for pharmaceutical tablets are in direct contact with the pharmaceuticals. Therefore, as a pharmaceutical manufacturer, when selecting packaging materials, it is necessary to understand some properties and characteristics of packaging materials and containers, to ensure the efficacy and quality of medicines. What are the common pharmaceutical packaging materials? Glass: Glass has the advantages of being moisture-proof, easy to s…

In response to the pandemic, regulators accepted virtual audit inspections. Two years on, is remote auditing here to stay? Alasdair Leckie, Operations Manager at Rephine Ltd, reveals the findings of research among international pharma clients and senior auditors looking to the future of auditing.
Before the pandemic, the pharma industry and its regulators would not have entertained the concept of remote audits to verify that the manufacturing and distribution standards of supply-chain partners were being maintained. Even the suppliers themselves would not have expected to be monitored at distance. The last two years have changed that, as lockdowns, social distancing and travel restrictions disrupted normal conditions. Rather than curtail audits altogether, with potential risk to product qua…

Locating and engaging hard-to-find talent in the Life Science industry is only getting tougher in today’s competitive job market. However, there are some simple things you can do to make your search for highly specialised, niche talent that little bit easier. In this article, we outline 10 ways to locate hard-to-find talent in the Life Science industry; from rewriting your job adverts and strengthening your employer brand, to making the most of social media and niche job boards.
Locating and engaging hard-to-find talent in the Life Science industry is only getting tougher in today’s competitive job market. However, there are some simple things you can do to make your search for highly specialised, niche talent that little bit easier. In this article, we outline 10 ways to locate hard-to-fin…

Drug Regulatory Affairs, or DRAs, are responsible for icing that new medicines meet safety and efficacity norms. They also make sure that the medicine information is accurate and over to date before the medicine can be retailed.
What's Regulatory Affairs? Medicine Regulatory Affairs is the process of icing that medicines and medical bias are safe for public consumption. It includes the responsibility to insure that all products are manufactured in agreement with current Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP), to maintain records, and to report adverse events.  Significance of Regulatory Affairs  Medicine Regulatory Affairs is the process by which medicinals are estimated for safety and efficacity. It's an important part of the medicine development process, as it ensures that medicin…

How Cambridge biologics company SolasCure is developing an accessible method for cleaning chronic wounds, inspired by a solution from nature.
Maggot therapy, the unpleasant practice of introducing living fly larvae into wounds to remove dead and dying tissue, is astonishingly effective. Its popularity can be traced back to ancient cultures around the world[1]. For millennia people had observed that maggots were able to effectively clean wounds, but only in the 20th century was it possible to attempt to use them in a more systematic and deliberate way, as a "treatment". Due to their widely accepted efficacy, today maggots can be found in controlled clinical settings to clean chronic wounds, secreting digestive enzymes of which some specifically break down the fibrin networks found in necrot…

When recruiting within the Life Science industry, there is often an emphasis on what candidates can do in terms of hard skills and technical expertise. However, soft skills are becoming more important than ever in the industry, with recruiters now looking at how candidates could fit in with and contribute to the company culture as well as how long their list of qualifications and achievements is.
When recruiting within the Life Science industry, there is often an emphasis on what candidates can do in terms of hard skills and technical expertise. However, soft skills are becoming more important than ever in the industry, with recruiters now looking at how candidates could fit in with and contribute to the company culture as well as how long their list of qualifications and achievements is. W…

The CEO and COO of Siilo - Europe's largest medical messenger app - provide their personal insights into championing women in the health tech industry, ahead of this year's International Women's Day on 8 March.
Five ways a tech business can champion women in the workplace International Women’s Day (8 March) provides the ideal opportunity for employers in the healthtech sector to reassess gender diversity, according to Siilo CEO, Joost Bruggeman and COO, Esther Van Der Meer. Here both share their perspectives…   Esther Van Der Meer:   Any business which wants to fully meet the needs of its customers or end users needs to do everything possible to understand them – who they are, how they work and what they need. To achieve this, you simply must have a diverse employee base. It is…

Germany is home to the largest Pharmaceutical market in Europe and the fourth largest in the world; with its large population, strong infrastructure and highly skilled workforce making it an ideal location for Pharmaceutical innovation. With a highly skilled workforce comes a lot of competition amongst Pharmaceutical and Life Science recruiters for the best talent in the industry, which is a challenge that has only been made more difficult post-pandemic.
Germany is home to the largest Pharmaceutical market in Europe and the fourth largest in the world; with its large population, strong infrastructure and highly skilled workforce making it an ideal location for Pharmaceutical innovation. With a highly skilled workforce comes a lot of competition amongst Pharmaceutical and Life Science recrui…

The demand for therapeutic proteins is constantly growing and gives further reason for continuing the development of high-quality protein production technologies. Mammalian cell lines are the preferred choice to create recombinant proteins, in particular Chinese Hamster Ovary (CHO) cells and Human Embryonic Kidney (HEK or HEK293) cells. However, with the higher demand also comes a higher confusion of which cell line to pick for one’s own studies. Due to the many possibilities as well as advantages and disadvantages, it can be quite troubling to decide which cells would serve specific research the best. Therefore, this article is designed to help scientists make the right choice.
HEK cells vs. CHO cells in recombinant antibody production: What's the better choice The demand for therapeu…

With thousands of new jobs being advertised across the Life Science industry every day, it can be difficult to know where to start looking for the next step in your career. In this article, we’ve put together some key things you can do to help with your Life Science job search; with advice on what you can do both before and during your search to get the best results from your time.
With thousands of new jobs being advertised across the Life Science industry every day, it can be difficult to know where to start looking for the next step in your career. In this article, we’ve put together some key things you can do to help with your Life Science job search; with advice on what you can do both before and during your search to get the best results from your time… Focus Your Job Search Before di…

15 Pharma and Life Science events taking place in March 2022, including events on drug development, gene therapy, drug safety, regulatory affairs, pharma supply chains, digitalisation and transformation, and more.
15 Pharma and Life Science events taking place in March 2022: 2nd Interstitial Lung Disease Drug Development Summit (March 7th-9th) The timely 2nd ILD Summit will siphon critical insights from experts at Pfizer, Genentech, Novartis, Boehringer Ingelheim and Pieris Pharmaceuticals to help you catalyze a new wave of therapies against Scleroderma, Sarcoidosis, COP, CT-ILDs and more. Gene Therapy for Rare Disorders 2022 (March 7th-10th) As the gene therapy field strives to strike the balance between clinical efficacy and product safety in the context of mounting regulatory scrutiny, G…

With the growing popularity of Paxlovid, the second spring of caronic anhydride has arrived, one the key intermediates of Paxlovid.
On February 16, 2022, the data on Paxlovid previously published by Pfizer and submitted to the FDA were published in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM). This NEJM article published viral load data that Paxlovid reduced viral load by 0.868 log10 compared to controls for 5 days of treatment, which equates to a remarkable 7.38-fold reduction in viral load. This pivotal study (NCT04960202) enrolled 2,246 patients with COVID-19, 1,120 received Paxlovid and 1,126 received placebo. Interim analysis showed that 28 days after receiving treatment, Paxlovid reduced the risk of hospitalization and death by 89.1% (p<0.001). Applying the final results of the IT…

At present, there are 9 drugs in 5 categories of anti-influenza drugs approved for marketing by national drug regulatory authorities worldwide.
Each year, seasonal influenza pandemics can result in 3-5 million severe cases and 290,000-650,000 respiratory disease-related deaths worldwide. So far, there are five documented influenza pandemics: ① 1918 H1N1 influenza in Spain; ② 1957 H2N2 influenza in Asia; ③ 1968 H3N2 influenza in Hong Kong, China; ④ 2005 H1N1 avian influenza; ⑤ 2009 H1N1 influenza. At present, there are 9 drugs in 5 categories of anti-influenza drugs approved for marketing by national drug regulatory authorities worldwide: ① M2 ion channel inhibitors amantadine and rimantadine; ② Neuraminidase inhibitors zanamivir, oseltamivir, peramivir, and laninamivir; ③RNA-depen…