There was a measure of reassurance this month for life sciences in the run up to Brexit, with the sector given a prominent role in the government's new industrial strategy. Out for consultation now and due to be finalised in April, the plans address areas such as regulatory barriers to innovation and encouraging pupils to study STEM subjects (see p7). 

Ahead of that Medicines Discovery Catapult board members Peter Kellner outlines the key role for research collaborations in the post-Brexit landscape (It's down to us, p35). Another area in flux that the industry is currently grappling with is the latest round of healthcare reforms, which we tackle this month in Preparing for change in NHS commissioning, p15. 

Amidst all this change and uncertainty it's reassuring to know that some of pharma's fundamentals hold true. In Working with patients and HCPs to create value, p32, UCB's Bharat Tewarie talks about his company's patient-centricity initiatives. Meanwhile, we also hear from J&J's Richard Mason (Open for innovation, p30) about pushing the needle in healthcare innovation.