TALKING POINTS

Wastewater is anything but a waste – it could even prevent the next pandemic

Researchers are using innovative technologies and artificial intelligence tools to study the contents of our sewers. Sewers hold a detailed record of a community’s health, containing the substances consumed and expelled by the population. That’s why researchers and health officials are using wastewater analysis to glean information about the health of citizens and the environment, to detect diseases, and trace their spread early on.

The outbreak of COVID-19 two years ago triggered an explosion of interest in wastewater for the study of epidemics, through the analysis of microbial bodies and substances that stem from the human digestive track and proliferate in sewage systems.

Now, two years into the pandemic, two things are clear: first, that a global effort must be made to develop and implement even more proactive monitoring systems that can be used to track and hopefully prevent other potentially deadly diseases down the line. And second – that our sewers may hold the answer.

Read the full article on the EPM website at: https://www. epmmagazine.com.

Talking points

CALL FOR GOVERNMENT TO TURBOCHARGE UK CANNABINOID INNOVATION

Anew published report sets out 20 key recommendations which, upon implementation, would set the UK on a path to become the global leader in cannabinoid innovation.

From Containment to Nurturing: How the UK can become a world leader in cannabinoid innovation was commissioned by The Centre for Medicinal Cannabis and the Association for the Cannabinoid Industry. It is authored by renowned regulatory thinker, professor Christopher Hodges and draws on wide ranging inputs from leading industry players, academics, patients, consumers and investors.

The report views the cannabinoid sector through the lens of Outcome-Based Cooperative Regulation, a regulatory philosophy pioneered by Hodges. He argues that for regulations to be effective, they need to be based in trust and collaboration.

Included in the recommendations are calls for GPs to be allowed to prescribe medicinal cannabis, updates to hemp farming rules, modernisation of the Proceeds of Crime Act and the creation of a national patient registry for all cannabis-based medicines prescribed in the UK.

Read the full article on the EPM website at: https://www. epmmagazine.com.

OUTSIDE EPM

Check out the latest news and interviews from our recently held Med-Tech Innovation Expo, the leading event for medical device and supply chain intelligence, at:

www.med-technews.com.

BE SURE TO LISTEN TO

The latest episode of The MedTalk Podcast features Oli Hudson from Wilmington Healthcare discussing procurement in the NHS and what it means for the medtech industry.