Last year the inaugural Pharma Fast 50 list showed us who the fastest-growing companies in the industry were, and we’re excited to be teaming up with Alantra again for a look at how things have changed for 2018 (p28).

Not only does the list tell the the industry which companies it needs to be keeping its eye on, but the accompanying analysis provides an in-depth look at the most important trends affecting the industry right now.

Elsewhere in the issue we look at how blockchain could change the pharma supply chain (p37), the latest trends in M&A (p36), the ups and downs of modern pharma R&D (p20) and an interesting collaborative project that aims to change health technology assessment in Duchenne muscular dystrophy (p22).

And don’t forget that March will be a big month for the PharmaTimes competitions – although both our Clinical Researcher competitions have now closed (with a record number of entries!) we’ll be launching the 2018 Communications Team of the Year awards and the Sales awards, as well as Marketer of the Year, which will be celebrating its 25th anniversary. We also have a brand new competition launching this year – Medical Excellence Awards for MSL, Scientific Affairs and Medical Affairs. Look out for more info in upcoming issues.

I hope you enjoy the issue.