There is an incredibly vast and varied army of people working diligently behind the scenes to ensure the safe and effective delivery of medicine, but despite their pivotal roles in securing good (or better) health for the population, they barely break through the veneer of society’s awareness. Here there is much to be celebrated, and pharma could certainly do with celebrating a few more of its heroes. John Pinching takes a closer look on page 24.

Also this month, the team at Wilmington Healthcare (p16) outline the NHS’ long-term strategy for tackling cancer, with earlier diagnosis to play a starring role, while on page 20 David Evendon-Challis and Dr John Creek consider the promise of the human microbiome as a focal point for the development of new and innovative approaches to treating disease, but stress that collaboration will be key to progress in the field.

Sticking with the theme of collaboration, Andrew Rut (p32) believes big tech and big pharma partnerships have the potential to transform drug development and improve patient outcomes, as long as patient trust remains intact.

Finally, don’t miss out on tickets for the 2019 PharmaTimes Marketer of the Year, Communications Team of the Year, and Sales Awards ceremony, which takes place at the Chelsea Harbour hotel in London on November 14 (www.pharmatimes.com/competitions). Full coverage of the event will be in next month’s PharmaTimes Magazine.

I hope you enjoy the issue!