Publisher’s Corner: Patrick M. Schmidt

IT IS WITH great pride that I watch this first issue of BioSupply Trends Quarterly go to print. I often have to remind myself that in addition to our biopharmaceutical distribution company and specialty pharmacy, we are also publishers. Our first magazine, IG Living, which was created as a comprehensive resource for immune globulin patients and their healthcare providers, just celebrated its third anniversary in March of this year.

This newest publishing endeavor, BioSupply Trends Quarterly, comes in response to the positive feedback from our customers who have come to rely on our BioSupply Trends bi-weekly e-newsletter. We envision this magazine to be an expanded resource for up-to-date news, trends, perspectives and leading indicators. It is our hope that you will find valuable and timely information, insights and resources in each of our themed issues.

As this first issue goes to print, the media are rife with news of a new influenza strain circulating the globe, and pandemic preparedness is once again at the forefront of people’s minds. That our inaugural issue’s theme is “vaccines” is purely a coincidence, decided long before the first H1N1 (swine) flu newscast. Yet, there is little in the biopharmaceutical world more topical at the moment than vaccines. And if there are hidden blessings to be found in the current scenario, one may be the light this scare is shining on the importance of vaccination in preventing debilitating and sometimes deadly disease.

The questions are still numerous, and answers are slow, yet steady. Will this new H1N1 strain mutate to become more virulent and deadly as has happened in past pandemics? When manufacturers produce a new vaccine, will it be effective if the virus does mutate? Will the new virus be more dangerous than the seasonal flu that already claims 30,000 to 40,000 lives each year in the U.S. alone and more than half a million worldwide? Who will get the new vaccine? And, how should healthcare providers prepare for seasonal influenza vaccination with the new H1N1 vaccine in the pipeline? Our H1N1 update addresses these and other questions, and includes the most up-to-date information as this issue goes to print. Specifically, our cover feature, Influenza: The Domino Effect, delivers a new slant on who should get vaccinated, with an up-close look at “herd protection,” the concept of vaccinating the strongest to protect the weak.

Our articles about increasing vaccination rates and the recommendations and requirements for population-specific vaccines take a broader look at getting people vaccinated in today’s fragmented environment. And, yet another article focuses on this newest H1N1 pandemic. Are we ready?

Beyond vaccines, it’s exciting to read that a potentially transformative new product on the cutting edge of clinical research is not really new: It’s human albumin, and it may reduce the toll of both stroke and sepsis. There is also promising research about new indications for immune globulin that, while potentially transformational, could create new supply challenges in the already tight plasma market. Our BioResearch and BioResources sections will provide you with timely journal research updates, as well as links to governmental and disease-state websites. And, our BioDashboard presents at-aglance information concerning product availability and reimbursement rates.

It is our sincere hope that BioSupply Trends Quarterly becomes a publication you look forward to receiving, and that you find informative and useful. We welcome your feedback, comments and suggestions. Please write to us at: [email protected].

Helping Healthcare Care,

Patrick M. Schmidt

Publisher