Whilst we have seen the COVID pandemic wreak havoc on care pathways across the country, it has also spurred closer and more concentrated working relationships between all factions of healthcare, with the common goal of improving outcomes for patients. And so learnings from this year’s Patient Partnership Index (p20) should be more pertinent now than ever before, helping pharma to keep patients at the centre of all that it does amid these particularly challenging times. A huge congratulations to Gilead Sciences, Leo Pharma (UK) and Pfizer, which all achieved GOLD standard for their entries.
Also with patients firmly in mind, on page 17 John Pinching considers how a growing confidence in the life sciences industry and the currency of individual experience is giving patient centricity an injection of new life, while on page 24 Oli Hudson outlines six different ways the industry has partnered with the NHS, all mutually beneficial while ultimately improving services for patients.
Elsewhere, David Sant provides fascinating insight into the debate over patent waivers for COVID vaccines and technology (p34), while Chris Smith, Robin Ellis and Pete Sadler urge pharma companies to be prepared for standard-essential patents, which are coming to the industry in one way or another (p32).
Finally, another reminder that the 2021 PharmaTimes Marketer of the Year, Communications Awards and Sales Awards are open for entry, while tickets are still on sale for the International Clinical Researcher of the Year gala dinner. For more information visit www.pharmatimes.com/competitions
