Gurminder Marwaha

A possible recession in the US and a global credit crunch are going to be major factors in the amount of money available as shareholders tighten their purse-strings.

As the saying goes, actions speak louder than words, and I hope the features in this month's magazine provide you with examples of how others in the industry are playing their role in a greener future.

And so another year has passed; it seems that once you've reached the age of 30, your life accelerates at a very unnerving pace. Marriage, houses, kids ... they hit you all of a sudden and before you know it, you're reminiscing about your days at university - which of course, are now just a distant memory.

Some people claim the statins are so effective and that their cholesterol has dropped to a point where they can "supersize" their burger and chips every time they visit a fast food outlet

While e-mail is quick and convenient, it's too easy to hide behind and, ultimately, faceless.

It's been a while since I last wrote my last editor's comment - a combination, during the last few months, of attending a variety of industry events (as the conference and exhibition season peaked before the summer) and being on holiday. I apologize for the poor excuses, but it's certainly better than saying the dog ate my homework.

How can we improve trust in medicines bought in foreign countries? After all, they will have been manufactured to the same standards and specifications as the medicines back home.

No one is better than Europe when it comes to innovative products at the forefront of the industry

So could the online auction formula be extended to the pharmaceutical industry? It might be a great way to make some big savings.

It's all well and good providing drugs for people who need them, but it becomes a lot more difficult if they choose to ignore the warnings

Will we be innovative enough if we just become service providers?

The human race will have colonized Mars long before the pharmaceutical industry brings itself into the 21st century.

One of the most important skills any editor must possess is the ability to listen to their audience — without feedback, we don't get an opportunity to develop our publications; to not act on feedback shows plain ignorance. I must, therefore, give my personal thanks to the many hundreds of readers who participated in the Pharmaceutical Technology Europe (PTE) editorial and readership survey, which we conducted earlier this summer. Your comments and opinions will help us develop PTE, and we already have a number of exciting plans for 2006. Stay tuned!

API and fine chemicals companies in Asia are flexing their muscles in a bid to increase their market share in key territories. This has been demonstrated by India's Malladi Drugs and Pharmaceuticals, which earlier this summer acquired Novus, a US company, to boost its presence in the pseudoephedrine (an ingredient used in cough and cold formulations) market. Reportedly, this is the first time (and it certainly won't be the last) that an Indian API manufacturer has bought a US counterpart and drives home the message that Indian companies are looking at providing products on a global scale. The deal gives Malladi an almost vice-like grip on a third of the global pseudoephedrine market, and more importantly, a foot in the lucrative US sector.

Nanotechnology. A few years ago it was supposed to be the next big thing...

The air of optimism surrounding the European biopharmaceutical industry seems to have dissipated...