5 - Contents

6-7 NEWS
Sanofi and Exscientia in deal worth up to $5.2bn; Pfizer/BioNTech to develop shingles vaccine

8-9 NEWS
AZ’s Tezspire approved in US for severe asthma; Biogen and Ionis in deal for spinal muscular atrophy

10-11 CORONAVIRUS NEWS
FDA grants expanded EUA to Pfizer/BioNTech; UK supercharges
booster programme over Omicron

12 DARWIN'S MEDICINE
Diversity breeds success but not
in the way you think

13 POLICY AND PUBLIC HEALTH
The COVID-19 pandemic’s footprint is massive – don’t expect it to shrink

14 2022: THE YEAR OF CPD
We need to show that healthcare communications is a serious discipline

15 THE CAPABILITY CRYSTAL BALL
What will be the next big change?

18-19 CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE: EUROPE’S HIDDEN CRISIS
Cardiovascular disease is one of the biggest health crises facing Europe today; it is the continent’s number one killer, accounting for 3.9 million deaths and costing the European Union €210bn

20-21 HOW THE INNOVATIVE USE OF DATA IS TRANSFORMING CLINICAL RESEARCH
The potential benefit for both industry and patients of better data management tools, including the increasing uptake of AI, is vast and mostly untapped

24-25 THE GENE THERAPY. AFFORDABILITY, ACCESS AND REIMBURSEMENT
It is anticipated that in the next 15 years, over one million patients may be eligible for or treated with gene therapies, with these therapies having the potential to change the way we deliver medical care

26-28 AUTOIMMUNE AND CHRONIC INFLAMMATORY DISEASES
Dihydroorotate dehydrogenase selectively targets cells with high metabolic activity in multiple autoimmune and chronic inflammatory diseases, enabling better activity, better selectivity, better safety

30-33 CONGRESSES AND CONFERENCES IN 2022
AND BEYOND
With the pandemic having dimmed the lights on pharma conferences, their virtual and hybrid replacements have grasped the opportunity - superstar congresses and conferences will stay centre stage but will now share the limelight with virtual and hybrid events

36-37 HOW COVID-19 AFFECTED PATIENTS WITH MS
Navigating evolving multiple sclerosis care during the COVID-19 pandemic - lessons on the importance of adapting medical communications quickly

January 2022