2020 was not a great year—and that may even be an understatement. Most words, however, would fail to truly capture what people experienced. Yes, it was devastating, but no words do justice to the loss of a loved one. Yes, it was stressful, but the stress felt by frontline healthcare workers is unlike what many of us have ever felt before. And yes, at times it was also isolating, uncomfortable, infuriating, strange, virtual, remote, unpredictable, scary, new, and not at all normal. But when we look ahead to 2021, only one word comes to mind: hope. And much of that can be contributed to you—the life sciences industry.
The recent positive news from Pfizer/BioNTech, Moderna, and AstraZeneca/Oxford regarding their various vaccines has helped us all see there may actually be a light at the end of this very long, dark tunnel. For the first time in a long time, we have hope. It’s clearer than ever that bringing people hope is what this industry does best—hope that patients might find relief from their suffering, gain more time with their family and friends, and even be cured. And that hope is a direct result of the other thing this industry does best—innovate.
Innovation is at the core of the life sciences. It is why we established this industry’s first-ever issue dedicated to innovation nine years ago. But this year, above all of the rest, displays the power of innovation in the face of a crisis. By clicking here, you will find selections that include a medical device company that reimagined how their ventilators work to protect HCPs but still serve patients, diagnostics companies that worked to deliver faster tests to contain the spread of COVID, and even a tool to help HCPs not specializing in respiratory to better treat COVID patients.
And that’s not all, we also have plenty examples of how agencies and vendors worked to keep this industry going by making the transition to virtual conferences easier, helping companies better engage with HCPs and patients remotely, and spreading critical information about COVID. And while not all of the selections are COVID related, they all reflect the main reason this industry strives to innovate—offering HCPs and patients hope for a better tomorrow.
So, here’s to 2021. We now have hope for a better year ahead, and that my friends and colleagues is thanks to you.
