Editor’s Letter

At the start of 2020, I am sure not many people would have predicted that our world would be on lock-down due to Covid-19. I am an eternal optimist and I am very sure something good will come out of this.

Already, positive things are starting to show – the climate is fighting back with air quality better over Europe due to the decreased activity in the aviation industry. I do wonder if now could be a very good time to look at a plan B.

The current crisis is unearthing serious supply chain issues, which is why there must be more stringent sustainability, especially when it comes to healthcare and enabling patients to get the best treatment available.

Bill Treneman at UPC Cambridge explains how driving R&D towards 2020 and waging war on carbon, we have seen AstraZeneca want to become carbon-neutral by 2025 – is this possible?

Rich Quelch at Origin talks about understanding the health dimensions of the climate crisis as, according to a Lancet report, spending on climate change adaption is falling way short of the $100 billion a year commitment made under the Paris agreement.

One area that is being highlighted during these times is people’s lungs. Today, around 235 million people are living with asthma: Sven Stegemann at ACG and Graz University of Technology highlights rethinking inhaler systems from a patient perspective – the increasing challenge of technology diversity.

Charlotte Harris at Team Consulting, Cambridge, UK says that there are five questions you should ask when developing an inhalation device, to seek to develop the right device and ensure you have a product that is going to last the test of time.

Also, at this time of highlighting the amazing support that caregivers give, it is fantastic to hear that more than half a million volunteers signed up for the NHS to help the vulnerable. Mindy Gruba at Signant Health highlights the hidden heroes behind the patients who have cancer, and the importance of giving recognition they deserve for this role.

I think it’s also important to highlight the advancements in logistics technology which will play a role in combating COVID-19. Already in the last week we have seen much higher demand for protective clothing for those in hospitals, and Richard Ettl at SkyCell talks more about this.

I really hope that everyone reading this will find some normality in dealing with the daily situation we find ourselves in, but I do know that we are part of an amazing sector, and we drive to make patients better.

Lucy Robertshaw Director, Lucy J.Robertshow Consulting

We are in an unprecedented time. We hope all our readers and clients are safe and healthy. All the things that were taken to be self-evident a couple of weeks ago are no longer so. That is how fast this epidemic is spreading.

Investors fear the spread of the coronavirus will destroy economic growth and that government action may not be enough to stop the decline. In response, central banks in many countries, have slashed interest rates. That should, in theory, make borrowing cheaper and encourage spending to boost the economy. Global markets did also recover some ground after the US Senate passed a $2 trillion (£1.7tn) coronavirus aid bill to help workers and businesses. But some analysts have warned that they could be volatile until the pandemic is contained.

The pharmaceutical industry is working at lightning speed on antibody hopeful. Gilead has an antiviral drug in late-stage development, and Moderna is set to begin testing the first novel coronavirus vaccine. Pfizer is working on potential antiviral therapies, and BioNTech on a potential mRNA coronavirus vaccine.

Many lessons will be learned from this crisis, not the least of how companies and government can work together, progress with potential coronavirus vaccines and how we can be better prepared for future health crises. I am sure we will come out of this crisis and build a stronger and healthier economy.

In the meantime, IPI will continue to publish exceptional articles, and remain a major source of communication within the pharmaceutical industry.

Virginia Toteva Editorial Manager – IPI

Editorial Advisory Board

Bakhyt Sarymsakova, Head of Department of International Cooperation, National Research, Center of MCH, Astana, Kazakhstan

Catherine Lund, Vice Chairman, OnQ Consulting

Deborah A. Komlos, Senior Medical & Regulatory Writer, Thomson Reuters

Diana L. Anderson, Ph.D president and CEO of D. Anderson & Company

Franz Buchholzer, Director Regulatory Operations worldwide, PharmaNet development Group

Francis Crawley. Executive Director of the Good Clinical Practice Alliance – Europe (GCPA) and a World Health Organization (WHO) Expert in ethics

Georg Mathis Founder and Managing Director, Appletree AG and Executive Vice President, Vienna School of Clinical Research

Jagdish Unni, Vice President – Beroe Risk and Industry Delivery Lead – Healthcare, Beroe Inc.

Jeffrey Litwin, M.D., F.A.C.C. Executive Vice President and Chief Medical Officer of ERT

Jeffrey W. Sherman, Chief Medical Officer and Senior Vice President, IDM Pharma

Jim James DeSantihas, Chief Executive Officer, PharmaVigilant

Mark Goldberg, Chief Operating Officer, PAREXEL International Corporation

Maha Al-Farhan, Chair of the GCC Chapter of the ACRP Rick Turner, Senior Scientific Director, Quintiles Cardiac Safety Services & Affiliate Clinical Associate Professor, University of Florida College of Pharmacy

Robert Reekie, Snr. Executive Vice President Operations, Europe, Asia-Pacific at PharmaNet Development Group

Sanjiv Kanwar, Managing Director, Polaris BioPharma Consulting

Stanley Tam, General Manager, Eurofins MEDINET (Singapore, Shanghai)

Stefan Astrom, Founder and CEO of Astrom Research International HB

Steve Heath, Head of EMEA - Medidata Solutions, Inc

Bioquell’s Rapid Bio-decontamination Service (RBDS) is Effective Against Coronavirus

Fully inclusive and managed RBDS uses Bioquell’s 35% Hydrogen Peroxide Vapour solution to eliminate pathogens, providing a 6-log sporicidal kill

With the number of COVID-19 cases rising globally, Bioquell (bioquell. com) – a leading manufacturer of highperformance bio-decontamination systems – is offering a proven solution to help eradicate coronavirus in a range of healthcare, life sciences and pharmaceutical environments, such as isolation rooms and public spaces.

Utilising the company’s scientifically proven 35% Hydrogen Peroxide Vapour technology, Bioquell’s Rapid Biodecontamination Service (RBDS) is helping to provide microbiologically clean surfaces and spaces for patients and staff.

Surface contamination has been implicated in the transmission of certain viruses, including coronavirus, and surface de-contamination is an effective measure to interrupt the spread of these agents.

A study on the virucidal efficacy of Bioquell’s Hydrogen Peroxide Vapour was published in the April 2014 issue of The Journal of Hospital Infection. The study evaluated the in-vitro efficacy of Bioquell Hydrogen Peroxide Vapour for the inactivation of a number of structurally distinct viruses that could impact the healthcare, veterinary and public sectors, including feline calicivirus (FCV); human adenovirus type 1; transmissible gastroenteritis coronavirus of pigs (TGEV: a severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV surrogate)); avian influenza virus (AIV); and swine influenza virus (SwIV).

The findings showed that after exposure to Bioquell’s Hydrogen Peroxide Vapour, no viable viruses were identified.

The technology also has been evaluated by the UK Government’s Biosafety Group at the Centre for Emergency Preparedness and Response, Porton Down, using the non-enveloped virus surrogate MS2 phage, with full inactivation achieved.

Respiratory viruses can contaminate and survive for long periods on environmental surfaces. Effective disinfection is essential for stopping transmission from the environment. However, this is not always achieved by conventional cleaning and disinfection techniques.

Bioquell’s Hydrogen Peroxide Vapour is a vapour-phase disinfection method that is virucidal on structurally distinct viruses dried on surfaces.

It achieves a level of efficacy unmatched by standard cleaning practices and other disinfection technologies. It is uniform across the entire target area and not limited to line-of-sight or easy-to-reach spaces.

Bioquell’s RBDS can be quickly called upon to eradicate coronavirus from a single area, several locations within a facility or an entire building. Using Bioquell’s 35% Hydrogen Peroxide Vapour solution (Bioquell HPV-AQ) can eliminate pathogens, providing a 6-log sporicidal kill.

Through complete coverage of every exposed surface in an enclosed area, the process is residue-free, proven safe on sensitive electronics and shown to kill a wide range of microorganisms including bacteria, viruses, fungi, spores and more.

Bioquell’s RBDS offers the flexibility to retain or recover the microbial integrity of critical areas with every deployment including planning, co-ordination, setup, equipment, and cycle validation and verification. It provides a complete final report confirming a 6-log kill of the spaces and surfaces that have been treated with the use of biological and chemical indicators.

For further information on Bioquell’s RBDS visit https://www.bioquell.com/ healthcare/systems-and-services/ rapid-bio-decontamination-servicerbds/?lang=en-uk

REFERENCES

1. S.M. Goyal, Y. Chander, S. Yezli , J.A.

Otter. 2014. Evaluating the virucidal efficacy of hydrogen peroxide vapour.

J. Hosp. Infec. Vol 86, 255-259. 2. T. Pottage, C. Richardson, S. Parks, J.T.

Walker, A.M. Bennett. 2009. Evaluation of hydrogen peroxide gaseous disinfection systems to decontaminate viruses. J. Hosp. Infect. doi:10. 1016/j. jhin.2009.08.020 3. Van Doremalen et al. 2020. Aerosol and surface stability of HCoV-19 (SARS-CoV2) compared to SARS-CoV-1. US

Government work. medRxiv preprint doi: 10.1101/2020.03.09.20033217

Bioquell Hydrogen Peroxide Vapor is an EPA registered sterilant but is currently not listed on the EPA emerging viral pathogens list. Until Bioquell’s hydrogen peroxide sterilant is presented on this list, Bioquell is unable to make a specific claim against SARS-CoV-2 / COVID-19 in the United States. For further information on this position, please contact your Bioquell representative.