Hello 2020! In the first PharmaTimes magazine of the new year and new decade we explore how the defining moments of 2019 might shape the pharma and healthcare landscape going forward.

On page 16, the team at Wilmington Healthcare consider the aftershocks of the Tories’ landslide victory in the general election, and what the impact might be on pharma and the NHS, while Ovid Health’s Jenny Ousbey offers fantastic insight into the new clutch of MPs (p29) at Westminster, highlighting who to watch out for and their potential political influence. Ana Nicholls also looks at the continued impact of Brexit and issues for the industry (p32).

Elsewhere, Sabina Syed and Conor Burke explore the relationship between pharma and the NHS and consider its future direction, on the back of findings of the first benchmarking survey between life sciences and frontline NHS leaders carried out by Visions4Health (p20). Both sides are closely aligned on what they want from effective partnerships, but it is clear that work needs to be done to achieve this and ensure satisfaction all round.

Climate change will no doubt continue to be a hot topic during 2020 and beyond. Along these lines, Mike Dixon offers advice on how communications can help businesses build a sustainable future (p27). Sticking with the future, John Pinching (p24) believes it’s ‘glowing’ for pharma, with advances in medtech, gadgets and innovation ‘rebooting the pharmaverse’.

Also of note, PharmaTimes is gearing up to launch the 2020 Marketing, Communications and Sales competitions shortly, with more challenges in store for entrants of all experience levels. More on that soon!

I hope you enjoy the issue!