Have your say

November is finally upon us and the days are getting colder and shorter. Fortunately for the PTE team, we managed to escape the miserable weather of the UK for some days last month when we visited sunny Madrid for the annual CPhI/ICSE exhibition. This was the first time that I had the opportunity to attend the show and I have to say, although it was a tiring few days, I was lucky to meet some very interesting people and to learn about exciting developments in the pharmaceutical ingredients market. From advances in excipients to exciting innovations in drug delivery, the exhibition provided us with an excellent overview of the current market for pharmaceutical ingredients and the issues and challenges faced by manufacturers. One thing I can say is that, although the economic downturn has affected all industries, the sense of optimism amongst members of our industry is refreshing, and the commitment to development and innovation appears to have remained intact. Over the coming months, we will be reporting on some of the key developments in the ingredients industry and highlights from the show, so watch this space.

Fedra Pavlou

In this month's issue, we have taken a detailed look at the ever-evolving market for pharmaceutical packaging. For this feature, the PTE team worked with a number of experts to provide you with an overview of today's market for pharmaceutical packaging. We also uncovered some of the obstacles facing packaging manufacturers and looked at innovations and growth opportunities.

As you know from some of my previous communications, PTE recently set up a LinkedIn group (pharmtech.com/linkedin), which is growing day-by-day. The first aim of this group was to allow us to connect with our readers and other experts within the industry, enabling us to get to know our audience, and to provide you with the latest developments in your industry. The second aim of the group was to allow you to connect with each other. In this issue, although it will not be obvious to most, some of the benefits of setting up this valuable network of experts can be seen; several of our LinkedIn group members provided some very valuable insight and contributions for our packaging feature. We will continue to report on the key issues in your industry and we will continue to encourage our LinkedIn group members to get involved. So if you have something to say and want to join in, feel free to sign up to our group (pharmtech.com/linkedin).

Once again, I would like to thank you so much for your continued support of PTE. It has been a real pleasure to meet with some of you over the last few months and I look forward to meeting more new faces. Next stop for us: Los Angeles for this month's AAPS meeting. Maybe I'll see you there!

Best wishes, Fedra Pavlou